Supercharging Immune Cells May Help Control HIV Long-Term
2 days ago
- #HIV Treatment
- #Medical Breakthrough
- #CAR-T Therapy
- CAR-T cell therapy, originally used for cancer, is being tested for HIV, showing early promise in controlling the virus without medication.
- In a clinical trial, two participants with HIV have maintained undetectable virus levels for nearly two years and almost a year after a single infusion of modified immune cells.
- The study, presented at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy meeting, aims to prove safety and feasibility, with hopes to optimize for affordability and scalability.
- HIV cure efforts have historically involved stem cell transplants with rare CCR5 mutations, but these are risky and not scalable, unlike the engineered CAR-T approach.
- Engineered T cells target two sites on HIV to prevent viral escape, acting as 'sentries' to suppress replication, though results vary based on treatment timing and conditioning.
- Current CAR-T therapy is expensive (up to $475,000 in the U.S.) and requires complex manufacturing, but research focuses on in-body cell creation to improve accessibility for global HIV patients.