The engineered stem cells developed into a large population of mature, multifunctional HIV-specific CD8 cells that could specifically target cells containing HIV proteins. The researchers also found that HIV-specific T-cell receptors have to be matched to an individual in much the same way that an organ is matched to a transplant patient.

The next step is to test this strategy in a more advanced model to determine if it would work in the human body, said co-author Jerome A. Zack, UCLA professor of medicine in the division of hematology and oncology and associate director of the UCLA AIDS Institute. The researchers also hope to expand the range of viruses against which this approach could be used.

But the results of the study suggest that this strategy could be an effective weapon in the fight against AIDS and other viral diseases.

"This approach could be used to combat a variety of chronic viral diseases," said Zack, who is also a professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics. "It's like a genetic vaccine." .

Source: University of California - Los Angeles