Stem Cells and HIV
Research conducted by the UCLA AIDS institute alongside associated colleagues has shown that stem cells present in human blood could be genetically redesigned into cells that would be capable of hunting down and eliminating HIV-infected cells. This process could also eventually be used to target and treat a wide range of chronic diseases spread by viruses.
The UCLA study, which was published on December 7th, 2009 in PLoS ONE, an online journal, provided proof of feasibility that existing stem cells harvested from the human body could be genetically modified into what could be considered a genetic vaccine. In this way such an approach to cells can effectively be used to modify or engineer the body’s natural immune system and the fundamental T-cell response in particular where any AIDS-related treatments are concerned according to the lead investigator on the team, Scott G. Kitchen, who is also the assistant professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
These treatments can be targeted at a range of viruses that cause chronic diseases and even different types of tumors. Mr. Kitchen stated that the studies carried out by his team lay the foundation for further therapeutic developments that involve restoring damaged immune systems. They found that the engineered stem cells developed into mature, multi-purpose HIV-specific cells that were able to target cells specifically containing HIV proteins. The stem cells that were engineered by the team were implanted into mice for study, thereby allowing them to observe how the cells would react in a living organism. The team’s research also revealed that HIV-specific T-cell receptors need to be specifically matched to individuals in the same way that organs must be matched to transplant patients.
In a similar case a transplant of stem cells allowed a German AIDS patient to cease taking the medication he had be taking for the past ten years. The patient received stem cells from a donor with a rare gene variant that is already known to resist AIDS. Researchers also reported that the patient’s leukemia was also cured as a result of the transplant.
The donor who gave the stem cells was in the 1% of Caucasians that have the variant gene which does not have the section known as CCR5 – the section that helps the AIDS virus to enter a cell. German doctors worked on the premise that, by transplanting the donor’s stem cells into their patient, the process would rebuild both his blood cells and immune system so that they would be without the CCR5 section. As a result of the experiments researchers may well have found new ways of controlling the HIV virus so that patients would no longer have a life-long dependence upon medication should they become infected.
The next stage for Kitchen’s team is to determine whether or not such a procedure will work in the human body as well as extending the potential range of viruses against which such an approach might be used. Early results of the study indicate that the approach could well be effective in combating AIDS as well as a range of other viral diseases.
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