Finding a cure for HIV will require eliminating the viral reservoir: dormant HIV-infected cells that hide from the immune system and persist for years.
In a study published January 11 in JCI Insight,1 a team of researchers reported that transplanted hematopoietic stem cells engineered to encode an HIV-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) engraft and target tissues known to harbor HIV reservoirs.
“The idea with the CAR stem cell approach is that we're transplanting a source of stem cells that persist for the lifetime of the individual,” said Christopher Peterson, a virologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington, and a lead author of the study. Peterson’s team modified the CARs to contain a human CD4 domain, which can bind to the HIV envelope protein displayed on infected cells and, in the case of CAR T cells, kill them. The CAR cells also express a membrane fusion ...
