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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Jun 1.
Published in final edited form as: Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2015 Apr 12;15(6):819–830. doi: 10.1517/14712598.2015.1036736

Figure 3. Targeting the HIV genome.

Figure 3

The HIV provirus is flanked by identical viral long terminal repeat (LTR) sequences. Therefore CRISPR/Cas9 targeted to the LTR could cleave at both ends of the virus. DNA repair of the excised region between the cleavage sites would result in a single LTR “footprint” within the genome providing a reference to identify the position of the HIV proviral DNA 17, 23, 24. Guide RNAs targeting two or more sites within the 5' LTR can result in loss of promoter activity, leading to deactivation of the provirus 17. Guide RNAs can also be targeted to specific viral reading frames, causing indels that affect viral protein function, and concomitant virion production 26.