Drugs used to prevent organ rejection after transplantation could help to eradicate HIV, new American research has suggested.
Findings by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, showed that an immunosuppressant called sirolimus showed particular promise for HIV patients.
Dr Steven Deeks, HIV researcher and clinician, said despite the effectiveness of antiviral therapies at suppressing HIV, the virus persists indefinitely at low levels in infected patients, even if they are diligent about taking their medications.
But this discovery suggests that immune-modifying drugs could affect the level of HIV persistence.
“Current therapies fail to cure the disease as they do not attack those viruses that remain hidden within the immune system,” he said.
Dr Deeks and his colleagues examined how HIV infection is affected by immunosuppressants that are commonly taken by kidney transplant recipients to reduce their risk of rejection. The analysis included 91 recipients who were followed for a median of 3.2 years post-transplant.
When blood samples were analysed, they found that HIV remained well controlled following transplantation and long-term exposure to immunosuppressive drugs, particularly if they took sirolimus.
“Based on the observations in this study, the NIH is now sponsoring a targeted study to see if sirolimus might indeed contribute to a cure of HIV infection,” said Dr Deeks, whose study with UCSF transplant surgeons led by Dr Peter Stock and study co-ordinator Rodney Rogers, is published in American Journal of Transplantation.
“Our study highlights the potential synergies that can occur when two very different disciplines merge their talents and resources. We feel that the transplant community has much to teach the HIV community about the potential role of strong immune-suppressing drugs in curing HIV disease.”
Stock P, Barin B et al. Reduction of HIV Persistence Following Transplantation in HIV Infected Kidney Transplant Recipients. American Journal of Transplantation 3 April 2014; doi: 10.1111/ajt.12699 [abstract]
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