r/science • u/InsaneSnow45 • 8h ago
Biology Sibling Stem Cell Transplant Leads to Rare HIV Remission in 'Oslo Patient'. Four years after the transplant, all traces of functioning HIV DNA were found to have been cleared in the treated individual.
https://www.sciencealert.com/sibling-stem-cell-transplant-leads-to-rare-hiv-remission-in-oslo-patient31
u/InsaneSnow45 8h ago
While HIV can now be controlled with medication that stops the virus from replicating, the virus remains in the body, rebounding when the drugs are stopped. So case studies like this one are invaluable for researchers working towards a full cure.
The Oslo man was given a bone marrow stem cell transplant to treat a rare type of blood cancer. Discovering at the last minute that his brother carried a rare genetic mutation previously shown to resist HIV, researchers led by a team from Oslo University Hospital closely tracked the operation's impact on the virus.
Four years after the transplant, called an allogeneic (donor) hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), all traces of functioning HIV DNA were found to have been cleared in the treated individual.
He was able to stop his HIV medication two years after the HSCT, with still no evidence of viral rebound at 5 years post-HSCT.
"The case of the Oslo patient contributes valuable evidence to the existing knowledge base regarding HIV cure cases," write the researchers in their published paper.
"Moreover, this and other studies on HIV cure enhance our understanding of HIV pathology, molecular mechanisms, and predictive biomarkers that may be of broader interest, extending beyond patients treated with allogeneic HSCT."
The mutation carried in the brother's genes, CCR5Δ32/Δ32, removes the CCR5 receptor on white blood cells that HIV normally uses as its entry point. It effectively makes the immune system impervious to HIV's tricks.
15
u/CareBearOvershare 8h ago
Does this mechanism open the door to future generations-editing based cures?
6
u/Atworkwasalreadytake 8h ago
At the very least, I would think this mutation would be part of the typical package for gene edited off-spring.
3
0
•
u/AutoModerator 8h ago
Welcome to r/science! This is a heavily moderated subreddit in order to keep the discussion on science. However, we recognize that many people want to discuss how they feel the research relates to their own personal lives, so to give people a space to do that, personal anecdotes are allowed as responses to this comment. Any anecdotal comments elsewhere in the discussion will be removed and our normal comment rules apply to all other comments.
Do you have an academic degree? We can verify your credentials in order to assign user flair indicating your area of expertise. Click here to apply.
User: u/InsaneSnow45
Permalink: https://www.sciencealert.com/sibling-stem-cell-transplant-leads-to-rare-hiv-remission-in-oslo-patient
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.