Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has caused millions of deaths and continues to threaten the health of millions of people worldwide. Despite anti-retroviral therapy (ART) substantially alleviating severity and limiting transmission, HIV has not been eradicated and its persistence can lead to other health concerns such as cancer. The only two cases of HIV cure to date are HIV+ cancer patients receiving an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) from a donor with the CCR5 Δ32 mutation. While this approach has not led to such success in other patients and is not applicable to HIV+ individuals without cancer, the encouraging results may point toward a breakthrough in developing a cure strategy for HIV. Adoptive transfer of virus-specific T cells (VSTs) post HSCT has been effectively used to treat and prevent reactivation of latent viral infections such as cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), making VSTs an attractive therapeutic to control HIV rebound. Here we will discuss the potential of using adoptive T cell therapies in combination with other treatments such as HSCT and latency reversing agents (LRAs) to achieve a functional cure for HIV.
Highlights
According to the latest UNAIDS statistics, HIV impacted an estimated 37.9 million individuals worldwide, and resulted in over 770,000 deaths by the end of 2018
Given the immune evasion mechanisms shared by cancer cells and HIV (Mylvaganam et al., 2019), researchers in the HIV field are hoping to mirror the success enjoyed by cancer immunotherapy experts
The fact that anti-retroviral therapy (ART)-treated, HIV-infected individuals have a higher risk of malignancies further tangles the two disease types and creates more treatment options for HIV
Summary
According to the latest UNAIDS statistics, HIV impacted an estimated 37.9 million individuals worldwide, and resulted in over 770,000 deaths by the end of 2018. HIV reservoir can evade the immune system due to the lack of viral antigen expression and can cause viral rebound after the cessation of ART, making them the major barrier to an HIV cure (Sengupta and Siliciano, 2018) Both individuals cured of HIV have received HSCT with CCR5 32 donor cells (Hutter et al, 2009; Gupta et al, 2019). This suggests that eradication of HIV requires a reduction in the viral reservoir by myeloablation (Henrich et al, 2013, 2014) followed by immune reconstitution with HIV-resistant cells to prevent further infection. The failure to achieve a cure in most patients was likely due TABLE 1 | Summary of T-cell-based therapies in HIV clinical trials
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
