A handful of people with HIV have been cured after receiving HIV-resistant stem cells – but a man who received non-resistant stem cells is also now HIV-free

A handful of people with HIV have been cured after receiving HIV-resistant stem cells – but a man who received non-resistant stem cells is also now HIV-free

A man has become the seventh person to be left HIV-free after receiving a stem cell transplant to treat blood cancer. Significantly, he is also the second of the seven who received stem cells that were not actually resistant to the virus, strengthening the case that HIV-resistant cells may not be necessary for an HIV cure.

“Seeing that a cure is possible without this resistance gives us more options for curing HIV,” says Christian Gaebler at the Free University of Berlin.

Five people have previously become free of HIV after receiving stem cells from donors who carried a mutation in both copies of a gene encoding a protein called CCR5, which HIV uses to infect immune cells. This led scientists to conclude that having two copies of the mutation, which completely removes CCR5 from immune cells, was crucial for curing HIV. “The belief was that using these HIV-resistant stem cells was essential,” says Gaebler.

  • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.caEnglish
    11·
    21 hours ago

    Mass produce what? Completely irradiating people and killing their immune system for risky stem cell transplantation?

    • Spacehooks@reddthat.comEnglish
      2·
      19 hours ago

      Versus aids That will cause them massive immunity issues anyway? Sounds like a win if humanity can fine tune this.

      • Manjushri@piefed.socialEnglish
        1·
        17 hours ago

        If there were no other options available to HIV+ people you might have a point. However, there are other options open to them now. What needs to be done is cut the profit motive out of the pharmaceutical industry which causes such treatment to be unaffordable to many.

        It’s also important to point out that cancer-free people with HIV won’t benefit from stem cell transplants, as it’s a very risky procedure that can lead to life-threatening infections, says Gaebler. Most people are better off taking ART – often in the form of daily pills – which is a much safer and convenient way to stop HIV from spreading, enabling people to enjoy long and healthy lives, he says. Moreover, a recently available drug called lenacapavir provides nearly complete protection against HIV with just two injections per year.