Treating lymphoma with HIV-resistant stem cells ?cures? another patient - Ars Technica

That patient had a leukemia that could be treated with a blood stem-cell transplant, and his transplant team used cells that carried a mutation that eliminates one of the proteins that HIV uses to attach to cells. And we've already identified individuals with cells that can't be infected by HIV (they have a mutation that damages or eliminates a protein that HIV uses to attach to cells), who can act as a source of HIV-resistant cells.But for this to work, you have to eliminate a person's own blood stem cells and replace them. Because of these risks, stem-cell transplants haven't been considered a treatment option for HIV patients.But they are sometimes used for treating specific cancers that affect blood or immune cells, especially if chemotherapy has failed. But the doctors were unable to obtain enough stem cells from the patient himself.While a combination of chemotherapies put the cancer into remission, the doctors had, by this point, identified an unrelated individual who was a good match for the patient and carried mutations that can block HIV infection. But it definitely poses a risk to any future attempts to go this route, as not all graft-vs-host responses clear up without complications—and complications can be fatal.That risk is one reason why a stem-cell transplant is never going to be a first-option treatment for HIV.