Despite advances in combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), HIV infection remains a major global health problem, primarily due to the existence of latent viral reservoirs that enable long-term persistence of the infection. The aim of this bachelor’s thesis was to present the biology of HIV and to examine the potential applications of the CRISPR-Cas system in the diagnosis and treatment of AIDS. The thesis describes the phylogeny, genomic organization, and infection mechanism of HIV, with particular emphasis on the formation of latent reservoirs and their role in preventing complete viral eradication. The CRISPR-Cas system is presented as a bacterial adaptive immune mechanism together with its therapeutic and diagnostic applications in modern medicine. Special attention is given to the use of Cas9, Cas12, and Cas13 proteins in the detection of viral nucleic acids and in targeted interventions within the viral and proviral genome, as well as host factors such as the CCR5 and CXCR4 receptors. Advanced genome-editing approaches, including base editors and prime editors, are also discussed. The literature review indicates that CRISPR-Cas represents one of the most promising strategies for future HIV treatment, as it enables specific and targeted modification of viral or host genomes. However, its clinical application is still limited by off-target effects, inefficient delivery to latent reservoirs, and ethical concerns related to gene therapy.
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