In an encouraging research, a 23-member team of scientists, at a children’s hospital in Philadelphia USA, have been able to create HIV-resistant white blood cells. Using a technique called ‘tweaking’, scientists have been able to tweak CCR5 molecules from the surface of white blood cells, modify a gene in the CD4 T cells of these molecules and re-inject them back into the body.
Scientists have already observed that a small proportion of populations, who carry these CCR5 mutations by nature, are immune to HIV exposure. It is this observation that the scientists used in developing this new technology.
These engineered cells when re-introduced in the body, bolsters the immune system by blocking the entry and proliferation of HIV cells. Elena Perez, a member of the research team said, “This is very promising technology. Not only are the modified T-cells protect from HIV, they also multiply into daughter cells resistant to HIV. So hopefully, there will be a protected population of cells that will (eventually) multiply and boost the immune function of the patients.”
In studies conducted on mice and human blood cells, it has been found that these engineered T-cells protected mice from infection from the HIV virus. The encouraging laboratory results have prompted the scientists to initiate human clinical trials. The first such trial is likely to begin end 2008 or early 2009 and would primarily be aimed at evaluating the safety of this technique on human body.