Montreal discovery brings us closer to curing HIV 

Researchers in Montreal are making major strides in the fight against HIV. Scientists at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute have found a way to target and eliminate the virus’ hidden reservoirs, a key step toward a potential cure.

By reactivating dormant HIV cells and making them vulnerable to treatment, their approach could pave the way to eradicate the virus entirely.

“We know from a decade now of research that the virus is hiding throughout the body in different tissues and in a handful of cells where it is in a kind of dormant state. And these cells that harbor latent viruses are called the viral reservoir,” said Dr. Eric Cohen, Human Retrovirology Unit’s Director, IRCM.

“So in the last decade, the new frontier in HIV research is really to develop strategies to target first, understand where the virus is hiding, so in what type of cells these reservoirs are being established, and how we can target them so that we can eliminate them,” said Cohen.

Cohen’s laboratory aimed to assess the effectiveness of a group of molecules called SMAC Mimetic, which are designed to fight cancer.

The strategy consisted firstly of reactivating dormant HIV and then killing the reactivated cells by sensitizing them to a type of cell death known as “death by apoptosis.” This class of molecules could serve either as a tool or as a component of a treatment aimed at reducing or eliminating the viral reservoir.

“The presence of these reservoirs in people that are completely virally suppressed with antiretroviral therapy is associated with chronic inflammation. And this chronic inflammation is leading to several comorbidities such as cognitive impairment, cardiovascular diseases, and even several cancers. So even if people are not progressing, you know, their HIV infection is not progressing, because they are treated, there is this chronic inflammation that can exacerbate or cause comorbidities,” said Cohen.

While there’s still work to be done, this breakthrough offers new hope for HIV patients who currently rely on lifelong medication.

“We are very excited about these results because it is a proof of concept that this approach that we call shock and kill shock to reactivate the virus kill is to kill the reactivated reservoir can be part of an approach to cure HIV,” said Cohen.