Researchers “overwhelmed” by potential HIV cure using tech developed to fight COVID-19

HIV researchers in Australia have discovered a method to visualise the virus within white blood cells using mRNA, a development that could potentially lead to an eventual cure.

Researchers from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne successfully delivered an HIV-detecting form of mRNA into cells donated by HIV patients by encapsulating the mRNA in a newly developed coating made of lipid nanoparticles (or “fat bubbles,” as The Guardian described). These nanoparticles gained global attention when they were used to deliver mRNA into cells in the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.

Once inside the cell, the mRNA can bind to the HIV within infected cells, greatly simplifying the detection of the often elusive virus. HIV mutates rapidly, resulting in numerous variants that have made developing a universal therapy challenging. However, the mRNA has shown success in detecting multiple strains, making this technology a promising candidate for a future cure, according to ‘LGBTQ Nation’.

“We have never seen anything close to as good as what we are seeing, in terms of how well we are able to reveal this virus,” said Dr. Paula Cevaal, one of the institute’s researchers. She added that she and her colleagues were so impressed by the positive test results that they sent assistants back into the lab repeatedly to verify the findings.

“Since then, we’ve repeated it many, many, many more times,” she stated. “We’re very hopeful that we are also able to see this type of response in an animal, and that we could eventually do this in humans. Our hope is that this new nanoparticle design could be a new pathway to an HIV cure.”

While mRNA detection marks a significant step toward developing a vaccine or cure, further research is required to determine how to modify and neutralise the virus—either by enhancing the immune response or introducing therapeutic medications to eliminate the infection entirely.

This next phase could take several years, as it involves successful testing in animals before progressing to human trials to assess safety and efficacy.

Even more promising, Dr. Michael Roche, co-senior author of the study, mentioned that the new mRNA approach could also assist in treating other diseases, including cancer.

In the U.S.A., Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the fight against COVID-19 and is an infectious disease expert, co-authored a 2021 HIV vaccine study employing mRNA technology to develop a possible HIV vaccine.

“Despite nearly four decades of effort by the global research community, an effective vaccine to prevent HIV remains an elusive goal,” Fauci said. “This experimental mRNA vaccine combines several features that may overcome shortcomings of other experimental HIV vaccines and thus represents a promising approach.”

Moderna, the biotech company that pioneered mRNA technology with its COVID-19 vaccine, has been working on an experimental HIV vaccine in partnership with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (AIVI), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Scripps Research.