Creating a functional cure for HIV

The addition of adjuvants to vaccines to stimulate the immune system toward the antigen being injected is a common practice of vaccine delivery. However, trying to awaken the reservoir of dormant viruses in combination with vaccine administration represents a novel approach for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) research. Yet, that is precisely the path a team of researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V., and Gilead Sciences has taken. The collaborative group was able to demonstrate that combining an experimental vaccine with an innate immune stimulant may help lead to viral remission in people living with HIV. Using simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-Infected rhesus monkeys, the investigators found that the combination of vaccine and an immune stimulant decreased levels of viral DNA in peripheral blood and lymph nodes and improved viral suppression and delayed viral rebound following discontinuation of antiretroviral...