Gene Therapy May Offer Permanent HIV Suppression, Says Study
In a groundbreaking development in HIV research, scientists at Johns Hopkins University, USA, have discovered that gene therapy may hold the key to placing HIV in permanent dormancy, offering a durable treatment alternative to lifelong antiretroviral therapy.
New Delhi: In a groundbreaking development in HIV research, scientists at Johns Hopkins University, USA, have discovered that gene therapy may hold the key to placing HIV in permanent dormancy, offering a durable treatment alternative to lifelong antiretroviral therapy.
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The study, published in the journal Science Advances, explores how manipulating a molecule produced by HIV itself can push the virus into a non-replicating, dormant state — a process known as viral latency.
AST Molecule Found to Induce Viral Sleep
The research focuses on a molecule called an “antisense transcript” (AST). According to Fabio Romerio, Associate Professor of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology at Johns Hopkins, AST is a naturally occurring product of HIV’s genetic material that helps induce and maintain dormancy in the virus.
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By increasing the production of AST within CD4+ T cells — the immune cells targeted by HIV — the scientists were able to keep the virus from replicating for several days, effectively putting it to sleep.
Gene Therapy vs. Daily Antiretroviral Treatment
Currently, people with HIV rely on daily antiretroviral therapy (ART) to suppress the virus. While ART prevents the virus from making new copies, it must be taken long-term and comes with both short- and long-term side effects.
Gene therapy, in contrast, could potentially require only a single dose, making it a game-changing alternative to conventional HIV treatment.
HIV Remains a Global Health Challenge
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are 39.9 million people worldwide living with HIV, and over 630,000 die annually from HIV-related illnesses. Despite advancements in ART, the virus can hide in cells and tissues, returning rapidly if treatment stops.
“This research offers a promising strategy to make HIV manageable or even silent for life,” said Rui Li, lead author of the study and postdoctoral fellow in Romerio’s lab.
Experiment Shows Four Days of Viral Dormancy
To test their theory, scientists engineered a human CD4+ T cell line infected with HIV to produce higher levels of AST. These modified cells successfully kept the virus dormant for up to four days, after which the AST-expressing DNA degraded within the T cells.
The experiment was also conducted using T cells from 15 HIV-positive individuals, yielding consistent results in maintaining short-term viral dormancy.
Future of HIV Treatment: Permanent Viral Suppression?
While the findings are still in early stages, researchers believe this approach could pave the way for gene therapies that permanently enhance AST production in the immune cells of HIV patients, leading to long-term or permanent viral latency.
Romerio concluded, “Our ultimate goal is to develop a lasting, one-time treatment that can silence HIV without lifelong medication.”
