Recombination between HIV and lentiviral vectors: An experimental study on recombination between HIV and HIV-derived lentiviral vectors

The Committee on Genetic Modification (COGEM) commissioned a study to investigate the potential for new viruses to emerge from gene therapies using lentiviral vectors. Due to their similarity to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), lentiviral vectors could theoretically exchange genetic information with HIV in people with the virus, potentially leading to new HIV variants.

Until now, this risk was considered very small, but there was a lack of experimental proof. The study, conducted by the Amsterdam University Medical Centre (Amsterdam UMC), shows that no new viruses emerge when using the most common lentiviral vector, which is self-inactivating. However, an exchange of genetic material was observed when non-self-inactivating lentiviral vectors were used, which are less contained. Therefore, the emergence of new viruses cannot be ruled out in advance when using these vectors.