New Nature Microbiology paper: Long-term HIV-1 remission achieved through allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplant from a CCR5Δ32/Δ32 sibling donor

Mari Kaarbø, Group leader of the Virology Research Group, and collaborators report a case of sustained HIV remission following stem cell transplantation from a CCR5Δ32/Δ32 donor.

HIV-resistant donor cells 

Only a handful of people worldwide have ever gone into long-term remission from HIV, usually after receiving a bone marrow (stem cell) transplant from a donor who carries a rare genetic mutation called CCR5Δ32. This mutation makes their immune cells resistant to most types of HIV.

This paper describes a 63-year-old man living with HIV who received such a transplant from his brother to treat myelodysplastic syndrome, a blood disorder. After the transplant, his blood and immune system were entirely replaced by his brother’s cells. Two years later, he stopped taking HIV medication.

Insight, but not a treatment strategy 

Over the following years, the team repeatedly tested his blood, gut, and bone marrow using very sensitive methods. They found no intact HIV genetic material, no virus capable of replicating, and no active HIV-specific immune responses. His HIV antibodies gradually declined, suggesting his body was no longer exposed to the virus. 

Because the donor’s cells fully engrafted, even in the gut, the main reservoir for HIV, this case strongly suggests that he may be cured of HIV. This work adds to a small but important body of evidence suggesting that replacing the immune system with HIV-resistant donor cells, combined with full donor chimerism across tissues, may contribute to the reduction or possible elimination of viral reservoirs. Importantly, this approach is not broadly applicable as a treatment strategy, but these rare cases provide critical insights that can help guide future HIV cure research.

Links:

Paper:
Myhre AE, Meyer-Myklestad MH, Gullaksen HH, Søgaard OS, Tolstrup M, Salgado M, Martinez-Picado J, Holberg-Petersen M, Juhl AK, Schleimann MH, Gunst JD, Thomsen A, Fisher K, Bhamra JS, Kran AB, Halvorsen B, Dyrhol-Riise AM, Reikvam DH, Aukrust P, Gedde-Dahl T, Oslo HIV Cure Study Group, Dahl TB, Kaarbø M, Trøseid M (2026)
Long-term HIV-1 remission achieved through allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplant from a CCR5Δ32/Δ32 sibling donor
Nat Microbiol (in press)
DOI 10.1038/s41564-026-02304-8, PubMed 41975092

Kaarbø group:
OUH - Virology Research Group

Department of Microbiology

News articles (in Norwegian):

OUS innsikt:
Pasient uten påvisbart hiv fem år etter stamcelletransplantasjon (oslo-universitetssykehus.no)

Dagens medisin:
Nordmann trolig kurert for hiv: – Det nye forsvaret har tatt fullstendig over (dagensmedisin.no)