HIV cannot yet be cured for everyone,
but every day people are working hard towards a solution

HIV research

There are various types of research, each with its own approach and objective.

Biomedical research is mainly conducted in a laboratory, at the cellular and DNA level.

Clinical research is conducted in a hospital by a clinical research physician, on people with HIV. The research focuses on how the bodies of people with HIV respond to treatments and/or procedures.

Social science research uses interviews and questionnaires to gain insight into the experiences, needs and expectations of people living with HIV. For example, what people think about the search for an HIV cure and what impact new treatment methods can have on their daily lives.

In the Netherlands, biomedical and clinical research into HIV cures is conducted at four university medical centres: Radboud MC in Nijmegen, Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, UMC in Utrecht and AUMC in Amsterdam. In addition, social science research is conducted by universities in Maastricht and Utrecht.

Scientists and doctors around the world are searching for ways to cure HIV. Virtually every country in the world has universities, institutes and private companies working ceaselessly to unravel all the details that should ultimately lead to a world without HIV and AIDS.

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Two types of research

There are two main directions in biomedical and clinical HIV cure research. One focuses on the HIV reservoir and the other on the immune system itself.

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These two types of research partly overlap, but for clarity we explain them separately here. The first type is called “reservoir studies,” and the second type is called “immune studies.”

Reservoir research

Reservoir research focuses specifically on the dormant CD4 cells with HIV that are hiding in your body: the HIV reservoir. These cells are inactive, which means that the HIV in those cells is also inactive. That changes when they wake up.

Dormant CD4 cells like these wake up fairly regularly. This is not a problem if you’re taking antiretrovirals, because all the other active CD4 cells are being protected. The virus then has no chance of infecting other CD4 cells. So you must carry on taking your anti-HIV medication while you still have dormant CD4 cells with HIV hiding in them. Reservoir research attempts to tackle this HIV reservoir.

You will find more information below on various reservoir studies and what an HIV reservoir is.

Shock and kill

‘Shock and kill’ aims to wake up dormant cells with HIV.

Block and lock

Researchers are exploring ways to permanently lock up dormant cells with HIV.

HIV reservoir

The size of the HIV reservoir varies from person to person.

Immune research

Another branch of research focuses on the immune system itself. Researchers already know a great deal about how the immune system works.

Research is being conducted into how your immune system can be made stronger and more effective against HIV.

Does something need to be changed genetically in the CD8 cells or in the broadly neutralising antibodies (bNAbs), or does a new type of immune cell that can specifically target HIV need to be created in the laboratory?

Perhaps something can be done with the protein of the CD4 cell itself. There are people with the CCR5-delta-32 mutation. Can this mutation be replicated and applied using a technique like CRISPR-cas9?

You will find more information below on the terms used in this text.