AIDS researchers trying to cure HIV with a one-two punch have had an early hint that the approach might work - they have successfully used an old cancer drug to kick the virus out of its hiding places in the body.
In a pilot study, researchers at Aarhus University, in Denmark, gave the cancer medicine romidepsin to six HIV-infected people in an effort to provoke the virus into emerging.
It worked: infusions of the drug woke the virus and caused it to start reproducing, according to results presented today at the International Aids Conference, in Melbourne. Once aware of the virus's presence, the immune system will fight it.
Antiretroviral pills can keep the virus in check but do not eliminate it from hidden reservoirs deep within the body. Studies have shown that when patients stop taking their medication the virus proliferates, forcing more treatment.
Bionor Pharma, based in Oslo, is studying romidepsin as part of a "kick-and-kill" approach to curing HIV. The romidepsin kicks HIV out of hiding and then another drug, Vacc-4x, prompts the immune system to kill it.
"It's another step towards something that might be a cure for HIV," said Ole Schmeltz, Sogaard, one of the senior researchers.
Bionor announced successful completion of the pilot study in May, and said it would start enrolling more patients for the study, in which HIV-infected people will take Vacc-4x and romidepsin, before stopping their anti-HIV treatment to see if the virus rebounds.
Academic teams around the world, and drugmakers, have for years been looking for ways to wipe out hidden HIV reservoirs in the body .
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