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Straits Times
a day ago
- Health
- Straits Times
Used in Covid-19 shots, mRNA may help rid the body of HIV
The new study describes the use of mRNA as a tool to flush HIV out of its hiding places. PHOTO: UNSPLASH Used in Covid-19 shots, mRNA may help rid the body of HIV NEW YORK - The technology that powered Covid-19 vaccines may also lead scientists to a cure for HIV. Using mRNA, Australian researchers said they were able to trick the virus to come out of hiding, a crucial step in ridding the body of it entirely. The research, published last week in Nature Communications, is still preliminary and so far has been shown to be successful only in a lab. But it suggests that mRNA has potential far beyond its use in vaccines as a means to deliver therapies against stubborn adversaries. Short for messenger RNA, mRNA is a set of instructions for a gene. In the case of Covid-19 vaccines, the instructions were for a piece of the coronavirus. In the new study, they are for molecules key to targeting HIV. Dr Sharon Lewin, director of the Doherty Institute at the University of Melbourne, who led the study, called mRNA a 'miraculous' tool 'to deliver things that you want into places that were not possible before.' Vaccines deploying mRNA instruct the body to produce a fragment of the virus, which then sets off the body's immune response. In the United States, the shots were initially hailed for turning back the pandemic, then viewed by some with suspicion and fear. Some officials, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, have falsely said that they are highly dangerous and even deadly. Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services sought to limit the vaccine's availability to pregnant women, children and healthy younger adults. The administration also cancelled a nearly US$600 million (S$773.72 million) contract with the drugmaker Moderna to develop an mRNA shot for humans against bird flu. 'The fear right now is not rational,' Dr Lewin said, adding that 'mRNA vaccines have been given to millions of people around the world, so we have a very good understanding of their risks.' The new study describes the use of mRNA as a tool to flush HIV out of its hiding places. Other uses could involve providing proteins missing from those with certain diseases or correcting genetic errors. Dr Frauke Muecksch, a virologist at Heidelberg University in Germany who was not involved in the work, called mRNA a 'promising, absolutely powerful technology.' Although most people may have only heard of mRNA's use in science during the pandemic, scientists have been working with it for more than 20 years, she said. 'I think it's not just therapeutically very powerful, but also for basic science, for research, it opens up a lot of avenues,' she added. Potent antiretroviral drugs can now control HIV, suppressing it to undetectable levels. Still, minute amounts of the virus lie dormant in so-called reservoirs, waiting for an opportunity to resurge. A cure for HIV would involve ferreting out all of this virus and destroying it, a strategy that has been called 'shock and kill.' A significant hurdle is that the virus lies dormant in a particular type of immune cell, called a resting CD4 cell. Because these cells are inactive, they tend to be unresponsive to drugs. The few drugs scientists have previously used to rouse the virus in these cells were not specific to HIV and had unwanted side effects. 'It's fair to say the field's been a little bit stuck,' said Dr Brad Jones, a viral immunologist at Weill Cornell Medicine who was not involved in the latest research. In 2022, Dr Jones and his colleagues found that the immune boost from the mRNA vaccines awakened latent HIV in people living with the virus. (Other research has shown that mRNA vaccines also activated dormant viruses including Epstein Barr.) 'You get just a little bit of a gentle nudge with some of these vaccines, and it's enough to coax some of these latent viruses out so they can be killed,' Dr Jones said. Dr Lewin and her colleagues had for years experimented with other ways to activate HIV, but had no luck in resting cells. Seeing the success of the Covid-19 vaccines, which used lipid nanoparticles – tiny spheres of fat – containing mRNA, her team tested similar particles. They used the particles to deliver two different sets of molecules: Tat, which is adept at switching HIV on, and CRISPR, a tool that can 'edit' genes. The researchers showed that in resting immune cells from people living with HIV, the approach coaxed the virus out of dormancy. 'It's very, very hard to deal with these cells, so I think this really targeting the right population of cells is what makes this paper special,' Dr Muecksch said. It's unclear whether the new approach can successfully awaken all of the dormant HIV in the body, and what side effects it might produce. Dr Lewin said that 'mRNA will almost certainly have some adverse effects, as every drug does, but we will investigate that systematically, as we do for any new drug.' In this case, she said, side effects may be more acceptable to people living with HIV than having to take medications for the rest of their lives. The researchers plan to test the method in HIV-infected animals next, before moving into clinical trials. NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Major HIV breakthrough forces hidden fragments of the virus to emerge so it can be cleared from the body
Experts could have found a way to be one step closer to curing HIV for good. Researchers in Australia has developed a new treatment that forces hidden fragments of the virus - normally concealed within human cells - to emerge and expose themselves to the immune system. The breakthrough could enable the body, aided by antiviral drugs, to detect and destroy any lingering viral reservoirs. HIV has remained incurable because the virus can integrate itself into a cell's DNA, laying dormant and undetectable to both medication and immune defenses. Scientists said they've created a nanoparticle capable of delivering genetic instructions to infected cells, prompting them to produce a signal that reveals the virus's presence. Dr Paula Cevaal of the Doherty Institute and co-author of the study told The Guardian that the feat was 'previously thought impossible'. Cevaal said: 'In the field of biomedicine, many things eventually don't make it into the clinic, that is the unfortunate truth; I don't want to paint a prettier picture than what is the reality. 'But in terms of specifically the field of HIV cure, 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. 'So, from that point of view, 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.' The discovery was first revealed in the journal Nature Communications, where researchers said they were initially so astonished that they had to rerun the tests. Further research would be needed to determine whether revealing the virus would be enough to trigger an immune response, with tests only being carried out in the lab. It could still take years before clinical trials for the drug began, when it would have to go through rigorous testing before reaching consumers. However, the advance represents another step forward for the 1.2 million Americans currently living with an HIV infection - for which they took drugs daily. An estimated 31,800 people were believed to be infected every year, although that's a 12 per cent decline on five years ago. Globally, nearly 40 million people have the virus. The new nanoparticle's based on mRNA technology, the same as was used in covid vaccines made by Pfizer and other vaccine manufacturers. In their paper, the scientists revealed that they could deliver mRNA instructions to cells using the nanoparticle. The mRNA then instruct cells to generate substances that reveal the presence of HIV, but only if the virus was present. The study done in the laboratory was carried out in cells donated by HIV patients.
Hans India
2 days ago
- Health
- Hans India
Scientists develop real-time genome sequencing to combat superbug
Australian scientists have made a breakthrough in combating Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as golden staph - a superbug. The world-first initiative has demonstrated that real-time genome sequencing during severe infections allows doctors to quickly identify resistance mutations, and personalise treatment, Xinhua news agency reported. It will also help curb the spread of antibiotic resistance, said researchers from the Melbourne-based Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute). Collaborating with seven local hospitals, scientists from the Doherty Institute said that traditionally, hospital laboratories identify bacteria using standard tests that reveal only the species type, offering limited insight into antibiotic resistance or genetic changes. In contrast, genome sequencing provides a comprehensive genetic profile, uncovering mutations that can influence how bacteria respond to treatment. Previously, research into bacterial evolution was typically carried out retrospectively, often years after patients had completed treatment. In contrast, this new method enables clinicians to monitor bacterial changes in real-time, providing immediate and actionable insights for patient care, according to the study published in Nature Communications. Comparing golden staph samples from patients at the start of infection and at treatment failure, researchers found that in a third of cases, the bacteria developed mutations making standard antibiotics ineffective, said lead author Stefano Giulieri at the Doherty Institute and the University of Melbourne. 'In one case, after initially controlling a golden staph infection, the patient returned to the hospital two months after stopping antibiotics,' Giulieri said. Giulieri added that resistance increased 80-fold within two months, but genomic insights enabled clinicians to successfully adapt treatment and cure the infection. These findings represent a major step toward targeted therapy for bacterial infections and open the door to future clinical trials that could make this approach standard practice in hospitals worldwide, said the researchers.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Doctors make breakthrough in HIV cure search: 'We've never seen anything close to as good'
Experts may have moved one step closer to curing HIV for good. Researchers in Australia have developed a new treatment that forces hidden fragments of the virus — normally concealed within human cells — to emerge and expose themselves to the immune system. The breakthrough could enable the body, aided by antiviral drugs, to detect and destroy these lingering viral reservoirs. HIV has remained incurable because the virus can integrate itself into a cell's DNA, lying dormant and undetectable to both medication and immune defenses. But the scientists say they have created a nanoparticle capable of delivering genetic instructions to infected cells, prompting them to produce a signal that reveals the virus's presence. Dr Paula Cevaal, research fellow at the Doherty Institute and co-author of the study, told the Guardian that this feat was 'previously thought impossible'. 'In the field of biomedicine, many things eventually don't make it into the clinic,' she said, 'that is the unfortunate truth; I don't want to paint a prettier picture than what is the reality'. 'But in terms of specifically the field of HIV cure, 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. 'So, from that point of view, 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.' The discovery was first revealed in the journal Nature Communications, with researchers saying they were initially so astonished that they had to re-run the tests. Further research will be needed to determine whether revealing the virus is enough to trigger an immune response, with the tests only being carried out in the lab. And it could still take years before clinical trials for the drug begin, when it would have to go through rigorous testing before reaching consumers. But the advance represents another step forward for the 1.2million Americans currently living with an HIV infection — for which they must take drugs daily. An estimated 31,800 people are infected every year, although this is a 12 percent decline on five years ago. Globally, nearly 40million people have the virus. The nanoparticle is based on mRNA technology, the same that was used in the Covid vaccines made by Pfizer and other vaccine manufacturers. In their paper, the scientists revealed that they could deliver mRNA instructions to cells using the nanoparticle. This mRNA then instructs cells to generate substances that reveal the presence of HIV, but only if the virus is present. The study was done in the lab, and carried out in cells donated by HIV patients. It comes after the Trump administration was reported to have cut funding for research into a potential HIV vaccine. The termination of the $258million research program stunned scientists at Duke University and Scripps Research Institute behind the project. HIV disproportionately affects gay and bisexual individuals in the US, who account for an estimated 67 percent of new infections — according to 2022 data. People who acquire HIV through heterosexual sex made up 22 percent of new diagnoses, or 8,495 cases, while those who were diagnosed after injecting drugs made up seven percent of new diagnoses, or 2,650 cases.
New York Post
3 days ago
- Health
- New York Post
Doctors near HIV cure with ‘previously impossible' discovery: ‘We have never seen anything close to as good'
An estimated 39 million people around the world are living with HIV — and, while treatment options can ensure they have long, healthy lives, there is no known cure. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) — the most effective current treatment — can reduce HIV levels in the body so low the virus is almost undetectable. An estimated 39 million people around the world are living with HIV. dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images However, the fact that the virus can hide in certain white blood cells has been a major hurdle in fully eradicating it. Now, researchers in Australia have developed a novel lipid nanoparticle, dubbed LNP X, capable of delivering mRNA into these elusive cells. Once inside, the mRNA instructs the cells to reveal the concealed virus, potentially allowing the immune system or additional therapies to target and destroy it. Paula Cevaal, research fellow at the Doherty Institute and co-first author of the study, told the Guardian that this remarkable scientific feat was 'previously thought impossible.' 'In the field of biomedicine, many things eventually don't make it into the clinic — that is the unfortunate truth; I don't want to paint a prettier picture than what is the reality,' Cevaal said. Researchers in Australia have developed a novel lipid nanoparticle, dubbed LNP X, capable of delivering mRNA into white blood cells harboring HIV (pictured here). Corona Borealis – 'But in terms of specifically the field of HIV cure, 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,' Cevaal added. 'So from that point of view, 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.' The results were published last week in the journal Nature Communications. While it could take years to get to human clinical trials — the implications are enormous. The findings add to the latest scientific advancements that suggest a cure for HIV could be on the horizon. Last year, researchers in Amsterdam used gene-editing technology to eliminate all traces of the virus from cells in the laboratory. And last July, a 60-year-old German man was declared HIV-free, making him the seventh person to be cured.
