A woman with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who received a cord blood stem cell transplant to treat acute myeloid leukemia has had no detectable levels of HIV for 14 months, despite cessation of antiretroviral therapy, according to research presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI). This is the third known case of HIV remission in an individual who received a stem cell transplant.
The research that yielded this case was conducted by the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trial Network (IMPAACT) for their P1107 observational study.
IMPAACT P1107
The IMPAACT P1107 study began in 2015 and was a U.S.-based observational study designed to describe the outcomes of up to 25 participants living with HIV who underwent a transplant with CCR5Δ32/Δ32 cord blood stem cells for the treatment of cancer, hematopoietic disease, or other underlying disease. As a result of the genetic mutation CCR5Δ32/Δ32, missing cells lack CCR5 co-receptors, which is what HIV uses to infect cells. By killing off the cancerous immune cells via chemotherapy and then transplanting stem cells with the CCR5 genetic mutation, scientists theorized that people with HIV may then develop an HIV-resistant immune system.
New Case Described in the Report
The case described at the CROI meeting involves a woman of mixed-race ancestry who had been on antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection for 4 years at the time of her acute myeloid leukemia diagnosis. She achieved acute myeloid leukemia remission after chemotherapy. Prior to receiving the stem cell transplant, the participant’s HIV was well-controlled but detectable.
In 2017, she received a transplant of CCR5Δ32/Δ32 cord blood stem cells supplemented with adult donor cells from a relative (called haplo cells). After receiving the stem cell transplant, she achieved engraftment with 100% cord blood cells at day 100 and had no detectable HIV. At 37 months posttransplant, the patient stopped antiretroviral therapy.
According to the study team, no HIV was detected in the participant for 14 months, except for a transient detection of trace levels of HIV DNA in the woman’s blood cells at 14 weeks after stopping antiretroviral therapy. The haplo cells only transiently engrafted and contributed to rapid recovery.
Previous Cases of Remission Tied to Transplant
HIV remission resulting from a stem cell transplant had been previously observed in two cases. The first, known as the “Berlin patient” (a White male), experienced HIV remission for 12 years and was deemed cured of HIV; he died of leukemia in September 2020. The “London patient” (a Latino male) has been in HIV remission for more than 30 months.
This third case of HIV remission suggests that CCRΔ5/Δ32 cord stem cell transplantation should be considered to achieve HIV remission and cure for people living with HIV who require such a transplant for other diseases, according to the study team.
Disclosure: The IMPAACT network is funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Institute of Mental Health, all part of the National Institutes of Health. The P1107 study is conducted by the IMPAACT Network, in collaboration with the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research, StemCyte, and the NIAID-funded AIDS Clinical Trials Group.
