Brother-Sourced Stem Cells Trigger HIV Remission in Oslo Patient
A 63-year-old Norwegian man, the ‘Oslo patient,’ received an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant from his brother carrying the CCR5Δ32/Δ32 mutation. Four years post-transplant, functioning HIV DNA was undetectable, enabling him to stop antiretroviral therapy two years later with no viral rebound at five years. The gut was cleared of active HIV DNA, HIV antibodies declined, and HIV-specific T-cell responses faded, suggesting sustained remission. While encouraging, such stem cell transplants carry high risk and are not a practical cure for HIV; researchers call for meta-analyses across rare cure cases and harmonized protocols. The study was published in Nature Microbiology.