"Through poisoning"? In addition to PD-1 antibodies, this virus can also "eliminate" HIV-infected cells.
"Through poisoning"? In addition to PD-1 antibodies, this virus can also "eliminate" HIV-infected cells. December 25, 2017 Source: Biological Exploration of: Chen In a study published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases on December 8, researchers from the University of Ottawa found that the MG1 virus can target and destroy a class of HIV that standard antiretroviral therapies cannot “respond†to. Infect the cells. If this technology works in humans, it could become a new way to treat AIDS. ▋ 1 treatment bottleneck At present, although daily medical treatment can keep the HIV virus in the blood at a low level, there is still no way to eliminate dormant HIV-infected cells in humans. These hidden HIV-infected cells are difficult to attack because they "behave" no differently from normal cells. If an HIV carrier stops taking antiretroviral drugs, these hidden viruses will quickly “rebound†and infect more cells. ▋ 2 new attempts In this new study, using the MG1 virus, the author of the paper, Professor Jonathan Angel, and his team tried a new way to identify these dormant HIV-infected cells. Previously, scientists have discovered that the MG1 virus can attack cancer cells with defective interferon pathways. Professor Angel's team further found that this pathway of dormant HIV-infected cells is also defective. Researchers believe that because dormant HIV-infected cells have similar characteristics to cancer cells, MG1 viruses may enter and destroy them. “The results prove that our speculation is correct,†Professor Angel said. ▋ 3 results are gratifying In the study, using a large number of dormant HIV-infected cell laboratory models, the scientists found that the MG1 virus can target and destroy such cells and make healthy cells "in good condition." In addition, although most of the dormant HIV-infected cells in patients are located in lymph nodes and other organs, a small number of such cells are also found in the blood. In this study, when scientists added MG1 virus to blood cells in HIV-positive individuals, HIV DNA levels in the samples decreased. This suggests that HIV-infected cells are eliminated. ▋ 4 future directions Professor Angel said: "Although we already know that MG1 virus can target and kill dormant HIV-infected cells, we still don't know how they do it. We suspect that this may be related to damaged interferon. Path related, but more research is needed to confirm." It is reported that the next step of the research team is to try this viral therapy in HIV animal models or directly into clinical trials. References: 1) Using viruses to fight viruses: New approach eliminates 'dormant' HIV-infected cells Cosmetics Ingredients SINOCHEM PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD , https://www.sinochemnutrition.com
