Harnessing CRISPR to combat human viral infections

Abstract

CRISPR/Cas9 is a technology that allows for targeted and precise genome editing in eukaryotic cells. The technique has changed the landscape of molecular biology and may be applied to repair genetic disorders in future therapies. Besides targeting the human genome, it can be used to cleave and edit viral DNA present in infected cells, and as such provides a promising new strategy for anti-viral therapy. Here, we discuss recent studies on the use of anti-viral CRISPRs to target pathogenic human viruses, with a focus on in vivo studies, challenges, and potential for future clinical applications.