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Another Stem Cell HIV website mention
http://www.healthuc.com/general-health/stroke/stem-cell-stories-that-caught-our-eye-speeding-stroke-recovery-hiv-clinical-trial-new-method.html Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: Speeding Stroke Recovery, HIV Clinical Trial, New Method With support from a CIRM grant, the researchers are developing a combination stem cell and gene therapy approach that is based on the success of the so-called “Berlin patient,” an HIV-positive man who was essentially cured after a bone-marrow transplant to treat his leukemia. In this instance, the bone marrow donor had a unique HIV-resistant mutation. The transplant transferred this mutation to the Berlin patient, and scientists have since been looking for a way to replicate this mutation on a larger scale. As explained in this week’s news release: “Using an enzyme called a zinc-finger nuclease (ZFN), the research team can …“edit” the HIV patient’s stem cell genes so that, like the Berlin patient’s donor, they can no longer produce the protein. No protein, no HIV infection. The virus might then disappear from the body. This study will be the first trial of ZFN technology in human stem cells. Earlier clinical studies in HIV-positive patients show that the ZFN method is generally safe when used with white blood cells called lymphocytes. And in one patient, the therapy was associated with temporary control of HIV without antiviral medication.” The team hopes to begin testing this approach by the fall of 2014 on HIV patients who have not responded well to traditional therapies. CIRM funds a team that uses a different approach to gene editing that began a clinical trial last summer. You can read about both on our HIV fact sheet. |
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