Overview
- Researchers detailed the case Monday in Nature Microbiology, reporting that the 63-year-old stopped antiretroviral therapy two years after a 2020 transplant and has shown no viral rebound up to five years post-procedure.
- His brother carried two copies of the CCR5Δ32 mutation that block HIV entry into immune cells, and donor-derived cells fully engrafted in his blood, bone marrow, and gut.
- Extensive testing of blood, marrow, and gut, including more than 65 million cells, found no replication-competent virus, and HIV-specific T-cell responses and antibodies waned over time.
- The transplant was performed to treat myelodysplastic syndrome, a life-threatening blood cancer, and this approach is not scalable given high risks such as graft-versus-host disease and the low odds of a sibling match with the rare CCR5Δ32/Δ32 genotype.
- Scientists call for pooled, harmonized analyses of the roughly ten known post-transplant remission cases to identify biomarkers and mechanisms that could guide safer cure strategies.