CCR5/ HIV cure / vanilla stem cells
Extract: Five people have previously become free of HIV after receiving stem cells from donors who carried a mutation in both copies of a gene encoding a protein called CCR5, which HIV uses to infect immune cells. This led scientists to conclude that having two copies of the mutation, which completely removes CCR5 from immune cells, was crucial for curing HIV. “The belief was that using these HIV-resistant stem cells was essential,”
But last year a sixth person – known as the “Geneva patient” – was declared free of the virus for more than two years after receiving stem cells without the CCR5 mutation, suggesting CCR5 isn’t the whole story – although many scientists think the roughly two-year virus-free period isn’t quite long enough to show they were actually cured, says Gaebler.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2506595-...ransplant/
Extract: Five people have previously become free of HIV after receiving stem cells from donors who carried a mutation in both copies of a gene encoding a protein called CCR5, which HIV uses to infect immune cells. This led scientists to conclude that having two copies of the mutation, which completely removes CCR5 from immune cells, was crucial for curing HIV. “The belief was that using these HIV-resistant stem cells was essential,”
But last year a sixth person – known as the “Geneva patient” – was declared free of the virus for more than two years after receiving stem cells without the CCR5 mutation, suggesting CCR5 isn’t the whole story – although many scientists think the roughly two-year virus-free period isn’t quite long enough to show they were actually cured, says Gaebler.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2506595-...ransplant/
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