Stem Cell Research on HIV/AIDS

Stem Cell Research on HIV/AIDS

At yesterday’s meeting of the California Independent Citizen’s Oversight Committee, the group directing the stem cell research program, UCLA virologist Jerome Zack presented research on using bone marrow stem cells to fight HIV infection. The story is reported in the San Jose Mercury News (free registration required) and in the Bay Area Reporter. The research involves inserting a new gene into the stem cells; the gene replaces the gene in the cells which is vulnerable to HIV. The virus is then cut in half by a DNA fragment known as a ribozyme. A clinical trial of 10 patients to test safety recently ended, and the patients had no problems. Additionally, the HIV-resistant cells were still present, in some patients as many as five years after the initial procedure.

A new trial to test this method as a therapy is currently enrolling people. The participants will have their blood stem cell growth stimulated, then have the blood drawn and the stem cells genetically modified. They are then reinserted into the blood stream. Patients will at several points during the treatment stop taking anti-viral medications to allow the HIV virus to kill unprotected blood cells, which will encourage the protected blood cells to replicate rapidly. The trial will take about 18 months.

This is not seen as a cure for AIDS, but as another form of therapy that would, if effective, allow patients to spend periods of time without anti-viral medications and their associated drawbacks.

A PDF outlining the study method, contact information, and so on is available online at the UCLA Institute For Clinical AIDS Research and Education. Deadline is December 9, 2005.