Stem cell transplant cures HIV! Only suitable if you have blood cancer or serious blood disease? The dawn of the future lies in 2 keys
Can stem cell transplant cure HIV? Experts reveal restrictions and infection risks
Recently, the international journal “Nature Medicine” officially published a case report of the third male “Düsseldorf patient” who was successfully cured of AIDS and leukemia through stem cell transplantation. In this regard, Wang Jintian, professor and director of the Institute of Clinical Medicine at National Yang-Ming University, said in an interview that with the development of virus research and drugs, the vast majority of HIV-infected people today can be stably controlled through medication. Stem cell transplantation has certain restrictions. , but also faces the risk of rejection and infection after transplantation, and is not a universally applicable treatment method.
Professor Wang Jintian said that stem cell transplantation methods include bone marrow, peripheral blood, and umbilical cord blood, but non-autologous stem cells may cause rejection problems, and long-term immunosuppressants are also required after transplantation. Only when an HIV-infected person develops blood cancer or severe blood disease and requires stem cell transplantation to survive, will screening and matching be considered to find out that the stem cell donor has the CCR5 Delta32/Delta32 gene mutation, and at the same time achieve the goal of treating leukemia and making the patient The purpose of “cure” is that the HIV virus cannot replicate.
“The problem is that before transplantation, the original hematopoietic function and immune function must be completely destroyed before foreign bone marrow transplantation can be accepted to reduce the problem of rejection. Moreover, there are only 1 Delta32/Delta32 mutant gene with CCR5 in the total population. %-2%, the proportion of Asians is especially rare, it is not easy to find a suitable match! "
Professor Wang Jintian also pointed out that although the current successful cases of HIV stem cell transplantation are called “cured”, some experts still believe that the fact that the HIV virus cannot be detected in these cases does not necessarily mean that it is truly completely eradicated, and may also be lurking in other places. in cells. In addition, the possibility of transplant failure and the risks associated with the procedure, including admission to an isolation ward and the increased risk of infection due to immunocompromise, need to be taken into consideration.
Outlook for HIV treatment: Can specific antibodies prevent viral reverse transcription?
In recent years, HIV treatment has become relatively friendly and convenient. Professor Wang Jintian pointed out that the current cocktail therapy uses drugs to suppress the virus so that it cannot undergo reverse transcription. The dosage of the drug has increased from 2-3 pills a day in the past to only 1 pill a day now. Most patients who take their medication on time and follow up can achieve quite good therapeutic effects. Although long-term medication must be taken, the side effects and convenience of treatment have been greatly improved.
On the other hand, developing a vaccine against the HIV virus or using antibody therapy to cure HIV infection may be the dawn of humanity’s fight against HIV. Professor Wang Jintian explained that HIV is different from other common viruses. In addition to lurking in cells after infection, when patients detect antibodies, the HIV virus has usually mutated and the antibodies are unable to neutralize it.
In recent years, it has been discovered that the antibodies in some infected people can neutralize HIV, preventing the virus from infecting T lymphocytes and white blood cells, thereby avoiding the various consequences of immunodeficiency syndrome after onset. It is expected that scientists will continue to experiment with methods such as gene editing to modify the specific antibodies in the “chosen people” to find possible weapons to treat HIV once and for all.
Will HIV infection become a chronic disease? Prevention is the best treatment
“HIV is different from SARS and COVID-19, which are viruses that spread through the air. Its transmission path is relatively clear, and most of them are through unsafe sex, sharing needles (drug addicts) or blood transfusions, and the methods of prevention are also very clear. , for HIV, prevention is the best treatment!”
Professor Wang Jintian said that to prevent HIV infection, the first step is to avoid sharing needles, unsafe sex and unnecessary blood transfusions. At the same time, we should also actively improve public health education and popularize HIV-related knowledge to help reduce the incidence of infection. Once infected, you should cooperate with the medical team for active treatment. In the past, people who were not treated could die within a few years of onset after the incubation period. Nowadays, long-term stable control means that there are many infected people living a normal life for 20 to 30 years. HIV infection has the opportunity to become more and more chronic.
Professor Wang Jintian pointed out that the origin of HIV is believed to be related to African apes and is similar to Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). However, some species of apes are natural hosts of SIV and will not become ill even if infected with SIV. , maybe these apes have evolved some mechanism to achieve a state of peaceful coexistence between primates and viruses.
As humans have more advanced medical technology and gene editing capabilities, the relationship between HIV and humans continues to evolve. It is no longer considered a terminal disease as it was in the past. Pre-exposure and post-exposure preventive drugs are also available. People should use more Facing HIV infection with a positive and more correct attitude.
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