One-time regimen may permanently clear HIV in newborns
OHSU-led researchers combined antiretroviral therapy, broadly neutralizing antibodies and an experimental antibody called leronlimab into a single regimen. Given within three days of infection in newborn nonhuman primates, it cleared the virus completely, something none of the th
More than 120,000 newborns contract HIV every year with no way to permanently clear it after birth. A team led by Oregon Health and Science University combined three treatments, antiretroviral therapy, broadly neutralizing antibodies and an experimental antibody called leronlimab, into a single regimen given within three days of infection. In newborn nonhuman primates, the combination cleared the virus completely, though each treatment alone had failed in past studies. Leronlimab blocks the CCR5 surface protein that HIV uses to enter immune cells, which researchers believe helps explain why the combination succeeded. The study was published in Nature Microbiology. Researchers say two of the three components are already in separate human trials, and the combination could move toward human testing next, starting with adults recently exposed to HIV. HIV still kills 600,000 people worldwide every year.