mRNA May Help Scientists Treat HIV, Study Suggests

The New York Times (6/5, Mandavilli) reports a study suggests that mRNA, the “technology that powered Covid vaccines,” may also help researchers find a cure for HIV. A significant hurdle to treating HIV “is that the virus lies dormant in a particular type of immune cell, called a resting CD4 cell,” that tend to be unresponsive to drugs. The study, published in Nature Communications, “describes the use of mRNA as a tool to flush H.I.V. out of its hiding places. Other uses could involve providing proteins missing from those with certain diseases or correcting genetic errors.” The research “is still preliminary,” and it remains to be seen if “the new approach can successfully awaken all of the dormant H.I.V. in the body, and what side effects it might produce.”