CRISPR-mediated excision of HTLV-1 reduces proviral loads in PBMCs from HAM/TSP patients.

Samuel Brancazio, Kamel Khalili, Steven Jacobson, Rafal Kaminski

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Journal of neurovirology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Samuel BrancazioCenter for Neurovirology and Gene Editing/Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Inflammation, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, 19140, USA.

Kamel KhaliliCenter for Neurovirology and Gene Editing/Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Inflammation, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, 19140, USA.

Steven JacobsonViral Immunology Section, Neuroimmunology Branch, Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Neurological, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.

Rafal KaminskiCenter for Neurovirology and Gene Editing/Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Inflammation, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, 19140, USA. rafal.kaminski@temple.edu.

Funding

Interdisciplinary And Translational Research Training In NeurohivT32MH079785 · NIMH · TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH · PI Kamel Khalili · 2008 to 2026

$5.4M

NIMH NIH HHS T32 MH079785School of Medicine/Center for Neurovirology and Gene Editing internal PI fund 161664-04400-02

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

CRISPR technology is emerging as a promising therapeutic approach for eliminating chronic viral infections, such as herpesviruses and HIV. Here, for the first time, we demonstrate in vitro that CRISPR can be used to excise the HTLV-1 genome and reduce proviral loads in PBMCs from HAM/TSP (HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis) patients. Single treatment with CRISPR-RNP (ribonucleoprotein) complexes composed of two gRNAs targeting the HTLV-1 env gene and 3'LTR sequences resulted in excision of a 2613 bp segment of the proviral genome, spanning tax and HBZ genes, without detectable off-target activity. Furthermore, CRISPR treatment led to over 50% reduction in proviral loads 5 days post-electroporation. Our data indicate that CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing can be used as a therapeutic strategy to eliminate HTLV-1 DNA from infected cells and may serve as a platform for curing HAM/TSP.

Indexed as

CRISPR-Cas SystemsHuman T-lymphotropic virus 1Leukocytes, MononuclearParaparesis, Tropical SpasticProvirusesBasic-Leucine Zipper Transcription FactorsDNA, ViralGene Products, taxGenome, ViralHumansRetroviridae ProteinsRNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas SystemsTerminal Repeat SequencesViral LoadBasic-Leucine Zipper Transcription FactorsDNA, ViralGene Products, taxHBZ protein, human T-cell leukemia virus type IRetroviridae ProteinsRNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas Systemstax protein, Human T-lymphotrophic virus 1CRISPR-Cas9HAM/TSPHTLV-1PBMCsProviral loads

Identifiers

PMID42667516

DOI10.1007/s13365-026-01333-7

PMCPMC13526106

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.