Anti-Cancer Drug Helps Detect Dormant Signs of HIV

A recent study found that a cancer drug can flush out hidden signs of HIV.

The drug romidespin was found to increase virus production in HIV-infected cells between 2.1 and 3.9 times above the normal rate, according to findings presented at the annual International AIDS conference in Melbourne, Australia. As the medication is currently licensed to treat T-cell lymphoma, it now carries potential for a future HIV therapy.

"We have now shown that we can activate a hibernating virus with romidepsin and that the activated virus moves into the bloodstream in large amounts. This is a step in the right direction; but there is still a long way to go and many obstacles to overcome before we can start talking about a cure against HIV," said Ole Schmeltz Søgaard MD, Senior Researcher, Aarhus University and Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, in a news release.

Findings revealed that the viral load found in blood samples increased to measurable levels in five out of six patients with HIV.

The same group of researchers had previously discovered that the drug panobinostat can activate hidden HIV in the cells. Yet this study revealed the first time that researchers have been able to activate the virus to levels that are readably detectable using blood sample measurements.

Furthermore, the results showed that when the virus is activated and moves toward the bloodstream, it leaves a trace on the outside of infected CD4 cells. 

As current anti-HIV medications block the virus from replicating in infected individuals, the immune system is unable to determine where latent copies may be located. For instance, if someone with HIV were to stop taking his or her medication, the latent copies could reactivate and start spreading through the body again.

With these new findings, researchers said they hope to push any dormant HIV out into the open and eliminate the problem earlier on.