If you have the CCR5 Delta 32 mutation...

[prowling4u]

What would you do ?

Become a bone marrow donor?

Keep receiving hiv strains from everyone? 

 

[PozBearWI]

As one with the heterozygous version of this mutation; I have some experience with this.  

Bonemarrow donor?  Seriously, I am poz, they don't want my blood save to test and evaluate.  As far as receiving strains; maybe that'll happen, but most likely not.  Not worried I am going to become "more poz" than I already am.

[prowling4u]

3 minutes ago, PozBearWI said:

As one with the heterozygous version of this mutation; I have some experience with this.  

Bonemarrow donor?  Seriously, I am poz, they don't want my blood save to test and evaluate.  As far as receiving strains; maybe that'll happen, but most likely not.  Not worried I am going to become "more poz" than I already am.

I believe you misunderstood the question...because IF you have the CCR5  mutation you could donate bone marrow to an HIV + individual and that would lead to HIV remission or elimination as far as I know.

[PozBearWI]

I truly did NOT misunderstand @prowling4u.  

I have the CCR5 delta32 mutation.  I am not cured of HIV.  My bone marrow is more likely to simply infect a fellow HIV+ guy with my strain after they wiped out his in preparation for bone marrow transplant.

Where are you getting your information that this mutation is a cure?

[NWUSHorny]

52 minutes ago, prowling4u said:

I believe you misunderstood the question...because IF you have the CCR5  mutation you could donate bone marrow to an HIV + individual and that would lead to HIV remission or elimination as far as I know.

At this point, the risk is too high solely for the purpose of curing HIV. All of the cured patients went through a stem cell transplant as part of a cancer treatment program. 

[Marlin]

1 hour ago, PozBearWI said:

I truly did NOT misunderstand @prowling4u.  

I have the CCR5 delta32 mutation.  I am not cured of HIV.  My bone marrow is more likely to simply infect a fellow HIV+ guy with my strain after they wiped out his in preparation for bone marrow transplant.

Where are you getting your information that this mutation is a cure?

People with this mutation have been determined to have an immunity to HIV and two HIV positive cancer patients who had bone marrow transplants with this mutation had their HIV cured...no trace of the virus. 

[viking8x6]

25 minutes ago, Marlin said:

People with this mutation have been determined to have an immunity to HIV and two HIV positive cancer patients who had bone marrow transplants with this mutation had their HIV cured...no trace of the virus. 

The confusion here may be happening because humans each have two copies of the CCR5 gene.

People who have one copy with the delta-32 mutation (and one normal copy) are resistant to HIV, but can still acquire it. This is called "heterozygous" - that's what @PozBearWI is.

People who have both copies with the delta-32 mutation are immune to HIV (for practical purposes, though they might still be able to be infected using some kind of drastic biotech method).  This is called "homozygous".

I didn't do an extensive search, but at least one scientific publication explains that a patient cured of HIV after bone marrow transplant received the transplanted marrow from a homozygous (double delta 32) donor.

[Erik62]

Thanks Viking, being poz for over 30yrs I have never desired anything but, the most basic HIV/Aids info etc. As an ex nurse, I needed to know my patients but, as the "patient" I let others do the worrying. I found this a very interesting topic & appreciate your research efforts. 

    Merry Christmas 🎅🎄🤶, Happy 2025.

[prowling4u]

7 hours ago, PozBearWI said:

I truly did NOT misunderstand @prowling4u.  

I have the CCR5 delta32 mutation.  I am not cured of HIV.  My bone marrow is more likely to simply infect a fellow HIV+ guy with my strain after they wiped out his in preparation for bone marrow transplant.

Where are you getting your information that this mutation is a cure?

Timothy Ray Brown (March 11, 1966[1] – September 29, 2020) was an American considered to be the first person cured of HIV/AIDS.[2][3] Brown was called "The Berlin Patient" at the 2008 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, where his cure was first announced, in order to preserve his anonymity. He chose to come forward in 2010. "I didn't want to be the only person cured," he said. "I wanted to do what I could to make [a cure] possible. My first step was releasing my name and image to the public."

From Wikipedia 

[PozBearWI]

@prowling4u yes I think most of us know who; but not how....

[PozBearWI]

While the mutation (whether homozygous or heterozygous) is certain beneficial, the procedure used on Mr Brown is quite a serious one.  Not something most of us could or would choose to "cure our HIV".  It also isn't a guaranteed cure.  It is a data point on the road to discovery of potential cures.  When he had his bone marrow transplant it wasn't with the intention of curing his HIV.  That was a happy albeit unexpected outcome.