Mice cured of AIDS
The new therapy completely suppressed HIV in mice
Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+
The effect is achieved with the help of synthetic proteins that enhance the body's immune response in response to the pathogen. In addition to HIV therapy, it is planned to use it against cytomegalovirus and other chronic viral infections. There is a potential that the treatment will be effective against cancer, diabetes and autoimmune diseases.
Article by Li et al. T-cell receptor-specific immunotherapeutics drive selective in vivo HIV and CMV-specific T-cell expansion in humanized mice published in Journal of Clinical Investigation – VM.
The human immunodeficiency virus first infects CD4+ T cells of the immune system - the so-called T helper cells. With the help of antiretroviral therapy (ART), patients with HIV can effectively control the disease by preventing new attacks of the virus on immune cells, but as soon as ART stops, copies of the virus hiding in CD4+ T cells for years are reactivated and begin to replicate in the body.
"It is unlikely that any therapeutic strategy will be able to remove all the hidden reservoirs of HIV. Our goal is to develop a functional treatment that creates a powerful immune response that suppresses HIV to an undetectable level even after stopping ART," explained co—author Harris Goldstein of Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
To achieve this goal, scientists have developed synthetic proteins called synTac (synapse for T-cell activation) that selectively stimulate CD8+, or T-killers, to launch a powerful specific attack against HIV-infected CD4+ T cells.
The first experiments on blood samples of patients with HIV or cytomegalovirus (CMV) showed strong antiviral activity of therapy against both pathogens.
Then the scientists conducted similar experiments on mouse models: the treatment led to a 32-fold increase in CD8+ in HIV and 46-fold in CMV, effectively suppressing infections in the rodents.
"This means that synTac may offer new opportunities for the functional treatment of HIV, CMV and other chronic viral infections," the authors said. On the other hand, technology is not limited to just exposure to viruses. synTac can be programmed to activate T cells, for example, to strengthen the attack on cancer, or to turn them off to cope with type one diabetes and other autoimmune diseases.
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