This is an encouraging step forward: Danish researchers have managed to wake up HIV, put to sleep by antiretrovirals, and force it out of its shelters.
Forcing HIV out of its last shelters to kill it. This is the “kick-and-kill” method, in which many researchers place their hopes. On July 22, at the International AIDS Conference (IAS-2014) held in Melbourne (Australia), a team from Aarhus University (Denmark) presented their advances in the field. They were able to reactivate “sleeping” HIV with antiretrovirals.
Six HIV-positive people participated in this trial. All were given a daily dose of antiretrovirals, which make the amount of virus (viral load) in the blood undetectable. In addition to this treatment, the volunteers took an anticancer drug, romidepsin, which has the property of increasing the viral load of HIV by 2.1 to 3.9 times by “waking up” sleeping cells with antiretrovirals.
Effective in 5 out of 6 patients
The treatment did not interfere with the antiretrovirals, and did not cause serious side effects. In contrast, in five of the six participants, the viral load became detectable, which is the first step in the “kick-and-kill” approach. Indeed, researchers have been trying for 3 years to root HIV out of its last refuges, then destroy it. By reactivating the virus, researchers are therefore making a major breakthrough.
The team also noted, through observation under a microscope, that when HIV leaves infected CD4 cells into the blood, it leaves traces. They hope that one day, T cells – responsible for fighting infections – will be able to follow in the footsteps to attack and destroy HIV host cells. This will be the second phase of the “kick-and-kill” approach. For this, the Danish researchers want to combine romidepsin with a vaccine that will push the immune cells to recognize and attack the refuges of the virus.
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