Australian scientists harness COVID-19 vaccine tech in breakthrough HIV cure research

Australian researchers have achieved a major scientific milestone by repurposing the mRNA delivery technology behind COVID-19 vaccines in a potential strategy to cure HIV—marking a promising leap forward in the global fight against the virus that affects nearly 40 million people worldwide.

Scientists at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity have used the same mRNA-based technology that powered COVID-19 vaccines to coax dormant HIV out of hiding—one of the biggest obstacles in finding a cure, Caliber.Az reports foreign media. 

The virus’s ability to lie inactive in resting CD4+ T cells, forming what is known as the “HIV reservoir,” has long stymied cure efforts. While antiretroviral therapy can suppress the virus to undetectable levels, it cannot eliminate it entirely.

In a laboratory study published in Nature Communications, the research team developed a novel delivery system using lipid nanoparticles—microscopic fat-like bubbles—to safely transport mRNA into infected cells. Once inside, the mRNA signaled the cells to expose hidden virus, making it vulnerable to treatment.

Dr Paula Cevaal, Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne and co-first author of the study, described the work as a first in HIV research.

“As HIV cure researchers, our goal has been to reach the virus where it hides. We programmed mRNA to tell infected cells to ‘give up’ the virus and make it visible. But getting the mRNA into those cells was the challenge,” said Dr Cevaal.

“We were excited to see that a new lipid nanoparticle, essentially a tiny fat bubble, could carry mRNA into HIV-infected cells successfully. It forced the virus out of hiding, which is exactly what we need to start clearing it from the body," she stated. 

According to her, this is the first time this strategy has been shown to work so well in HIV-infected cells. 

“Our hope is that this new nanoparticle design could be a new pathway to an HIV cure,” the researcher stated. 

Laureate Professor Sharon Lewin, Director of the Doherty Institute and a global leader in HIV cure research, said the breakthrough offers critical proof-of-concept.

“Back in 2020, my lab started looking at mRNA to deliver a new treatment for COVID-19. That work sparked a lot of new ideas for HIV, despite the two being very different viruses,” said Professor Lewin.

HIV advocate Heather Ellis, Communications Coordinator at Positive Women Victoria and a long-term survivor of HIV, welcomed the news but urged caution and inclusivity, noting that effective HIV treatments have existed since 1996 that control the virus to undetectable levels and allow people with HIV to live long and healthy lives. 

“An HIV cure would also mean we don’t have to take daily pills, which for some present side-effects, and hopefully would mean we don’t have to face HIV-related stigma and discrimination,” Ellis stated.

By Sabina Mammadli