Miranda Smith
“Shock and kill” strategy reduces virus reservoir during treatment
Researchers have revealed the final results of the REDUC Part B clinical trial to reduce the HIV reservoir in a presentation at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Boston.
Led by Associate Professor Ole Søgaard from Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, the REDUC Part B trial explored the so-called “shock and kill” approach to depleting the HIV reservoir. In the study, 20 HIV+ participants on effective ART were initially given 6 immunisations with the therapeutic HIV vaccine, Vacc4x-GM-CSF, developed by Bionor Pharma. The vaccine contains synthetic pieces of HIV that are common targets for immune responses, combined with GM-CSF, an immune-stimulating compound. Vaccination was followed by 3 infusions of romidepsin, a drug that has been shown to stimulate cells with latent HIV to produce virus.
The rationale for this approach is that the romidepsin forces cells containing HIV to reveal their infected status, allowing the cells to be recognised and killed by the boosted immune response from the vaccinations.
In this small trial, the researchers found a moderate reduction in the size of the latent HIV reservoir. This reduction was shown by two of three applied measures, suggesting that the strategy is at least partially effective in reducing the amount of virus circulating in HIV+ people on therapy.
Following from these results, a large phase II, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial is planned to begin later this year. This study (named the BIOSKILL study) will enrol HIV infected individuals on ART with long-term suppressed virus, and will likely recruit study participants in both Denmark and Melbourne, Australia.
A press release of the findings can be found here.
A webcast of the presentation can be seen here.
For further information on the BIOSKILL study, contact the Clinical Research Unit at Alfred Health Department of Infectious Disease on 9076 6908 or clinresearch@alfred.org.au.
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