A 66-year-old who was infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in 1988 and lived with the disease for over three decades has been cured following a stem cell transplant.
CCR5 is a receptor on a type of immune cell that HIV targets to make its way inside the immune system. In some individuals though, a mutation called delta 32 on the gene that codes for the CCR5 protein results in a receptor that is immune to an HIV attack. Without an entry into the immune system, the virus cannot replicate in the body.
Researchers at the City of Hope cancer research center in Los Angeles have been using the advantage gained by this mutation to treat people who have HIV. By transplanting stem cells from a donor who has the delta-32 mutation on the CCR5 gene into an infected individual, they can replace the recipient's immune cells with those that are resistant to HIV infection.. However, the recent case involves the oldest patient yet.A stem cell transplant is not an easy procedure to operate.
Following that, the patient has been monitored closely for over 17 months but hasn't shown any sign of the virus in his blood or tissue samples. "This patient was the oldest to receive a stem cell transplant [of the four patients], has lived the longest with HIV prior to his transplant, and received the least immunosuppressive therapy, we now have evidence that if the right stem cell donor is found for patients living with HIV who develop blood cancers, we can use newer and less intensive chemotherapy regimen options to try to achieve a dual remission," said Jana. K Dickter, associate clinical professor at City of Hope.
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