Newly funded: After identifying roadblock to HIV remission, study aims to knock it down

Researchers and scientists have long sought to develop improved treatments for HIV, with an eye toward achieving long-term, sustained remission of the disease. A project newly funded by the National Institutes of Health and led by principal investigator Pamela Skinner, PhD, aims to do just that. Skinner has identified what the team believes is a significant hurdle to fully suppressing virus replication: that one of the most effective T-cell fighters of the disease exists in too small a number within B-cell follicles in lymphoid tissues, where continued virus replication persists. A primary goal of the project is to deny the B-cell follicles this seeming immune-privilege status. To do this, the team will engineer natural killer (NK) cells to target B-cell follicles in preclinical studies. The five-year project aims to provide greater insight into cell trafficking and the conditions required for NK immunotherapies, and, ultimately, to produce an effective strategy for long-term HIV remission. Skinner’s previous and ongoing work with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells that target follicles shows great promise in treating HIV. CAR NK cells offer an alternative to CAR T cells, and have potential to lead to an off-the-shelf immunotherapy. Branden Moriarity, PhD, assistant professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology in the Pediatrics department, joins Skinner as Co-PI. He is an expert in engineering NK and T cells to treat diseases. The study began April 2 and will receive approximately $3.8 million through March 2026.