Worldwide, almost 38 million people are living with HIV—the virus that can lead to AIDS— and it’s estimated that 75% of them receive antiviral treatment to keep the virus in check. In California, 150,000 people live with HIV, and 68% of these individuals are virally suppressed due to treatment.  

To fight this virus, UC Davis Health researchers—with funding from a CIRM grant—have launched a study looking to identify a potential cure for HIV. Using immunotherapy, researchers will take a patient’s own white blood cells, called T-cells, and modify them to identify and target HIV cells, controlling the virus without medication. 

Targeting HIV with CAR T cells

“For this study, we will educate the cells by inserting a gene to target HIV‑infected cells,” explained Mehrdad Abedi, professor of internal medicine, hematology, and oncology, and the study’s principal investigator. “The idea is that these modified cells will attach to HIV‑infected cells, destroy them, and stop the infected cells from replicating.”

Modified T cells—known as CAR T cells—are already FDA‑approved for several cancers, including acute lymphoblastic leukemia, non‑Hodgkin lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. In cancer, the immune system often fails to deploy T cells effectively. CAR T therapy solves this by engineering T cells to express chimeric antigen receptors that bind to tumors and destroy them.

Study seeking HIV patients

For this study, UC Davis Health researchers are recruiting HIV‑positive adults ages 18 to 65 who have had an undetectable viral load for at least 12 months and have been on continuous antiretroviral therapy for at least a year. Patients must also be willing to pause their ART as part of the study.

“While exciting, the study will require dedication from participants because of the time commitment and necessary steps,” said Paolo Troia‑Cancio, a clinical professor of medicine in infectious disease and co‑investigator on the trial.

The search for an HIV cure

Three patients have been cured of HIV through bone marrow transplants, including a woman in New York who received a cord‑blood stem cell transplant containing a mutation that blocks HIV infection. Two earlier cases involved leukemia patients who received bone marrow from donors with the same HIV‑resistant mutation.

“While inspiring, bone marrow transplants are not realistic options for most patients,” Abedi said. “They are highly invasive and risky, so they are generally offered only to people with cancer who have no other options.”

Abedi and his colleagues see their CAR T‑cell study as a potential roadmap toward an HIV cure.

CIRM funded earlier work by Dr. Abedi and his team on developing therapies for people with HIV and lymphoma.

To read the source article about this CIRM‑funded study, click here.