Stem cells against HIV
HIV stem cell therapy boosted immunity in monkeys
AIDS was initially considered a fatal disease, but with the advent of antiretroviral therapy, it acquired the status of chronic: drugs can reduce the concentration of the virus in the blood and slow down the defeat of immune cells. But this therapy is not cheap and threatens complications, so the search for effective and safe ways to fight HIV continues, according to a press release from UC Davis Research provides a roadmap to HIV eradication via stem cell therapy.
Article by Weber et al. Gut germinal center regeneration and enhanced antiviral immunity by mesenchymal stem/stromal cells in SIV infection is published in the journal JCI Insight.
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), entering the human body, penetrates into T-lymphocytes – cells of the immune system involved in protecting the body from infections. The function of B-lymphocytes also suffers, which, as part of special structures – lymphoid follicles, produce protective antibodies against viral proteins.
The place of localization of T- and B-lymphocytes and, accordingly, the place of reproduction and stable reservoir of HIV is the lymphoid tissue of the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, one of the first pathogenic effects of HIV infection is associated with depletion of T-lymphocytes of the intestinal mucosa.
The current antiretroviral therapy is able to lower the concentration of the virus in the blood, which prevents a decrease in the number of immune cells and prevents the development of an immunodeficiency state of the body. But these drugs do not eliminate the reservoir of HIV in the body and do not restore damaged lymphoid tissue, but they cause serious complications. At the same time, it is known that in the so–called elite controllers - HIV-infected people whose disease does not progress, the structure of lymphoid follicles and the functionality of T and B cells are preserved.
In search of new AIDS therapies, scientists from the University of California at Davis (USA) the possibilities of restoring lymphoid follicles damaged by HIV with the help of so-called mesenchymal stem cells were investigated. These undifferentiated cells are able to transform into mature cells of adipose, bone, cartilage, muscle and nervous tissue. They are also known to have immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties.
In the experiment, rhesus monkeys infected with SIV, the monkey equivalent of HIV, were used. The animals were injected with mesenchymal stem cells obtained from the bone marrow of another monkey for 1.5 months. As a result, in sick animals there was a significant recovery of damaged areas of intestinal lymphoid tissue and an increase in the antiviral immune response.
The researchers noted the regeneration of lymphoid follicles and the improvement of immune cells – follicular B-lymphocytes and T-lymphocytes, as well as cytotoxic T-lymphocytes. The level of antibodies specific to the SIV envelope increased in the blood of animals, and the number of viral particles decreased.
In addition, scientists have identified positive changes in the work of the genes of the interferon system, responsible for fighting viruses, and the restoration of some biochemical blood parameters that affect immunity.
Thus, mesenchymal stem cells initiated regenerative processes, as a result of which the condition of the intestinal mucosa becomes almost like that of the aforementioned elite controllers, whose body effectively resists HIV. Therefore, they can be used in AIDS therapy in addition to existing approaches. Figuratively speaking, if antiretroviral drugs stop the "fire" of a viral infection, then mesenchymal stem cells will help restore the "forest" itself – the lymphoid tissue of the intestinal mucosa that provides antiviral immunity.
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