Many scientists were thrilled four years ago when an AIDS patient in Germany was apparently cured after receiving blood cells from a donor with natural immunity to HIV.
To determine whether this feat could be safely replicated, a group of researchers in California used genetic engineering to infuse billions of HIV-resistant blood cells into six male patients. On Monday, they announced that the new HIV-resistant cells were flourishing -- meaning that the men's bodies were now making some of their own HIV-resistant cells. The new cells lack the protein receptor -- also known as a "docking station" -- called CCR5, through which HIV invades the T-cells that are major players in the human immune system.
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