Australian Researchers Find Way to Expose Hidden HIV in Infected Cells

Australia’s Doherty Institute has unveiled a groundbreaking method using a novel lipid nanoparticle (LNP X) to carry mRNA into HIV-positive white blood cells, triggering them to expose the virus. This breakthrough, published June 5, 2025, in Nature Communications, offers a promising new route toward clearing HIV from the body—potentially combining with drugs or immune therapies.

Scientists at Melbourne’s Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity have developed a new lipid nanoparticle, dubbed LNP X, capable of delivering messenger RNA (mRNA) into the very white blood cells where HIV lies dormant. These cells previously evaded detection because they did not take up standard LNPs.

The breakthrough, detailed in Nature Communications and reported June 5, 2025, was hailed as “previously thought impossible” by Dr. Paula Cevaal, a research fellow and co-first author. By prompting infected cells to reveal the hidden virus, the technology could enable both pharmacological treatments and the immune system to identify and eliminate infected cells.

In lab tests using patient-derived cells, the team replicated these results multiple times, garnering surprise and excitement. Cevaal described the findings as “night and day difference” compared to prior attempts.

Despite the lab success, experts caution that more studies are needed to determine whether exposing the virus ensures immune clearance or requires complementary therapies. The path ahead includes further lab investigation, animal trials, and eventual human safety testing—a timeline that could span years.

This discovery marks a major advance in the effort to cure HIV, which affects nearly 40 million people globally. Although antiretroviral therapy (ART) suppresses the virus to nearly undetectable levels, it cannot eliminate the reservoirs concealed in white blood cells. The new method opens a potential pathway toward eradication rather than lifelong suppression.