As a little introduction to the topic I will explain how Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) works. HIV is a retrovirus, meaning that it infects cells and uses reverse transcriptase to infect normal cells with the genetic material of the virus. HIV creates RNA then uses a reverse transcriptase protein to integrate a complimentary DNA strand into the DNA of the host cell. HIV is particularly deadly because it attacks macrophages, dendritic cells, and CD4 helper T-cells, an integral part of the immune system. It can be spread through the transfer of many bodily fluids such as blood, semen, breast milk, or vaginal secretions. The virus has a long incubation period and is also known as a lentivirus. It infects CD4 cells, using them to replicate and over time it lowers the amount of CD4 cells in the blood to levels too low to stop infections. People with the lowest CD4 count are diagnosed as having stage 4 HIV infection, often called AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
HIV is a relatively new disease, only being discovered in 1983. There is not a cure widely available and most treatments are a combination of drugs designed to limit the viral load in fluids to undetectable levels, which reduces transmission rates and increases the life span. If treatment is stopped the virus will begin replicating back to pre-treatment levels. Only one man has been cured of HIV, by being giving a bone marrow transplant from someone with natural immunity to the disease. It was a rare circumstance that cannot be replicated readily since bone marrow transplants are expensive and matches are hard to find, particularly since immunity to HIV is rare. A few days ago a new series of treatments also produced a patient with no viral load, although further observation is needed to if this was a permanent solution.
This research paper focuses on some of the inner workings of the cells that have been infected by HIV. It was thought that when a cell was infected with HIV it did not realize it was infected and the cell did not attempt to fight the infection. In reality this paper shows that the cells recognize HIV replication products and produce type 1 interferon. This would normally fight off many types of infections, however HIV produces accessory proteins that regulate interferon production. In many cases interferon is ineffective at fighting HIV and causes inflammation that is detrimental to the patient.
Finding new things about HIV infections opens up new avenues of research. This research could lead to effective cures that work quicker and cheaper than those being researched now. It also shows that the understanding of this disease is not complete. What do you think about this ongoing research? Do you think HIV will be effectively cured sometime in the future?
For more reading on research about HIV here is the journal article I started on:
HIV Triggers a cGAS-Dependent, Vpu- and Vpr- Regulated Type I Interferon Response in CD4+ T Cells
By: Jolien Vermeire, Bruno Verhasselt, et. al
Any new research into HIV is a step in the right direction toward eventually curing it. Finding some way to combat the effects HIV has on interferon would be a good step, and anything that makes treatment more cost effective will benefit those who have HIV. I hope that a cure will come about for HIV in our lifetime, but that depends on how much is still left to discover about how the disease works.
ReplyDeleteWith the amount of attention that is given to certain diseases, there are a lot of people looking for a cure. Given time and the proper resources, a cure could be found for HIV.
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