Question: Name the technique used in the remission of HIV (Human Immuno Deficiency Virus) recently?
(a) ART (antiretroviral therapy) followed by Stem Cell Transplantation
(b) Vaccination
(c) CAR-T therapy
(d) Real time Cancer Diagnostics
Answer: (a)
Related facts:
- In a significant development, a person with HIV infection has been reported to be experiencing remission for the last 18 months after antiretroviral therapy (ART) was stopped following stem-cell transplantation in London.
- Remission is when HIV RNA (ribonucleic acid) is undetectable in blood. ART is used for treating HIV.
- The person with HIV was treated with advanced Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of cancer, earlier in 2012. To treat the cancer, stem cells which give rise to blood cells were transplanted from a donor who had two mutant copies of a co-receptor for HIV infection.
- The co-receptor (CCR5) is used by the HIV virus to gain entry into host cells in humans. But a mutant does not allow the virus to enter the host cells and hence makes the person resistant to HIV infection.
- In the recent study, the research team led by Prof. Ravindra K. Gupta from University College London first confirmed that following transplantation, the recipient had two copies of the mutant. ART was stopped 16 months after transplantation. The HIV RNA has remained undetectable in blood for 18 months after ART was stopped. The results were published on 5th March 2019 in Nature.
- The researchers did not use radiation but instead used certain drugs to deplete the T cells, which play a crucial role in immunity, before performing stem cell transplantation. At present, achieving HIV remission through stem cell transplantation will be possible only in those cases where people with HIV also have some form of cancer.
Abhinav Mishra
Links:
https://ojaankiasacademy.com/2019/03/05/hiv-remission-achieved-through-stem-cell-transplantation/
https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/hiv-remission-achieved-through-stem-cell-transplantation/article26432696.ece