The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated (Cas) systems are RNA-guided sequence-specific prokaryotic antiviral immune systems. In prokaryotes, small RNA molecules guide Cas effector endonucleases to invading foreign genetic elements in a sequence-dependent manner, resulting in DNA cleavage by the endonuclease upon target binding. A rewired CRISPR/Cas9 system can be used for targeted and precise genome editing in eukaryotic cells. CRISPR/Cas has also been harnessed to target human pathogenic viruses as a potential new antiviral strategy. Here, we review recent CRISPR/Cas9-based approaches to combat specific human viruses in humans and discuss challenges that need to be overcome before CRISPR/Cas9 may be used in the clinic as an antiviral strategy.

成簇规则间隔短回文重复序列 (CRISPR) 和 CRISPR 相关 (Cas) 系统是 RNA 引导的序列特异性原核抗病毒免疫系统。在原核生物中，小 RNA 分子引导 Cas 效应核酸内切酶以序列依赖性方式入侵外源遗传元件，导致靶标结合后核酸内切酶切割 DNA。重新连接的 CRISPR/Cas9 系统可用于真核细胞中的靶向和精确基因组编辑。 CRISPR/Cas 还被用来靶向人类致病病毒，作为一种潜在的新抗病毒策略。在这里，我们回顾了最近基于 CRISPR/Cas9 的对抗人类特定人类病毒的方法，并讨论了在 CRISPR/Cas9 作为抗病毒策略应用于临床之前需要克服的挑战。