Elite AIDS Case

Being elite spurs images of crystal champagne flutes, first-class airline leather recliners, private jets ready to take their passengers to whatever city their whim fancies and five star hotel suites. However, for one woman in Baltimore, being “elite” is quite a different scenario. This woman was diagnosed with HIV ten years ago and yet one would never know it as her body has never displayed one single symptom of the virus.
The Baltimore woman and her husband were both diagnosed with HIV at the same time; however, while it is necessary for her husband to take antiretroviral drug treatments daily, she has never had to take these strong HIV drug cocktails as her body naturally combats the virus. Researchers are studying this woman’s immune system very carefully as she may literally be the key to developing an AIDS vaccine. A team of researchers at John Hopkins University describe this woman as an “elite suppressor.” Joel Blankson who is heading the research team states, “This is the best evidence to date that elite suppressors can have [the] fully pathogenic virus. The feeling was initially that they had [a] defective virus.”
The woman’s immune system is different than that of her husband’s, which is apparent considering they both contracted the same virus strand. Blankson goes on to say, “That’s a good sign in terms of developing a therapeutic vaccine.” While the developed vaccine would not be able to prevent a person from contracting the virus, it would be very helpful in its treatment. With 33 million people suffering from the virus worldwide and 25 million people who have succumbed to the disease, AIDS is still a very dangerous adversary. New studies have estimated that over 55,000 in the United States alone contract the virus; facts show that the disease is usually highest in the gay and bisexual population, and among those who do not use condoms; but it can also be transmitted through drug use, heterosexual sexual encounters without safe sex, from mother to unborn child and through blood transfusions.
Blankson and his colleagues ran tests on the Baltimore woman’s immune system and discovered that her immune cells (CD8 T-cells) were able to stop the virus from replicating by almost 90 percent; meanwhile her husband’s own T-cells were only able to stop the virus from replicating by 30%. In addition, while the virus has grown weaker in her body, her husband’s virus has maintained its strength. Blankson states, “Elite suppression offers clues to vaccine researchers on many fronts: how CD8 killer T-cells can attack HIV and how a stronger immune response can force HIV into a permanent defensive state. We are trying to figure out exactly how the T-cells work in her to inhibit viral replication.” Some researchers in the study have pointed to the fact that the woman has high activity in her HLA (human leukocyte antigen) system. This system is responsible for recognizing harmful foreign bodies, like bacteria and viruses. Only time will tell what more data the researchers can garner from this woman’s case in order to help them in their quest to create an AIDS vaccine.