Safety Study of IL-7 in HIV-infected Patients (Inspire)

Summary

This study will evaluate the safety of a new experimental drug, IL-7, in people with HIV infection. Animal studies have shown that IL-7 can improve the function and number of infection-fighting cells called T lymphocytes, or T cells. If this study shows that IL-7 is safe, additional studies will be done to see if it can improve the function or numbers of T-cells in HIV-infected persons. HIV-infected persons who have been receiving HAART therapy for at least 12 months before enrolling in the study and have been stable on this treatment for at least 3 months before enrollment may be eligible for this study. Participants have about 10 clinic visits over 3 months. They receive three injections of IL-7, one injection a week for 3 consecutive weeks. The injections are given as a shot under the skin in the arm or leg. On the day of each injection, the participant stays in the clinic for up to 8 hours or longer for observation and collection of blood samples. Three additional visits (one every 3 months) may be scheduled. During the study visits the following may be done: * Medical history, physical examination, blood tests every visit. * Electrocardiogram (EKG) at study days 0 (day of first dose), 1, 7 (day of second dose), 14 (day of third dose) and 21. * Chest x-ray study on day 21. * Blood sample collections at frequent intervals during the first 96 hours after the first dose administration. A catheter (thin plastic tube) may be put into a vein in the arm and left in place to allow several blood samples to be drawn without repeated needle sticks. * Urine tests several times during the study.

Timeline

Start

2007-05

Primary completion

2009-10

Completion

2010-07

Publications

• Background Stebbing J, Gazzard B, Douek DC. Where does HIV live? N Engl J Med. 2004 Apr 29;350(18):1872-80. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra032395. No abstract available.
• Background Battegay M, Nuesch R, Hirschel B, Kaufmann GR. Immunological recovery and antiretroviral therapy in HIV-1 infection. Lancet Infect Dis. 2006 May;6(5):280-7. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(06)70463-7.
• Background Douek DC, Picker LJ, Koup RA. T cell dynamics in HIV-1 infection. Annu Rev Immunol. 2003;21:265-304. doi: 10.1146/annurev.immunol.21.120601.141053. Epub 2001 Dec 19.

Drugs

Indications