Researchers have removed HIV from human cells
According to AIDS.gov, more than 1.2 million people in the U.S. are living with an HIV infection, and almost 1 in 7 are unaware of their infection.
There is still no known cure for the HIV infection, which makes this disease particularly daunting.
New research from Temple University in Philadelphia may have uncovered a potential breakthrough, as researchers have removed HIV from human cells.
Previous research has been able to suppress HIV, but this is the first time that it has been successfully removed.
“It’s an important finding because, for the first time in laboratory setting, we show that the virus can be eradicated from human culture, cell culture, said Dr. Kamel Khalilii, who led the research team at Temple’s Center for Neurovirology. “Basically [we’re] converting infected cells to un-infected cells,” he said, “and that is very important because the current therapy can not eliminate the virus from cells.”
Dr. Khalili and his team have developed molecular tools that can remove HIV from DNA.
Though the study was successful, eradication of HIV still faces some problems. The researchers must find a way to deliver their method to every single infected cell. Because HIV often mutates, therapies may need to be customized to specific patients.
Dr. Khalili believes that the cure for HIV is just around the corner. “We have a cure for HIV elimination. We have a system to eliminate HIV from the cells in the laboratory,” says Dr. Khalili. “Very exciting, it’s very exciting.”
The researchers’ next challenge is to transfer this method from slides in a lab, to animals, and eventually humans.
“We are working on a number of strategies so we can take the construct into preclinical studies,” Dr. Khalilii said. “We want to eradicate every single copy of HIV-1 from the patient. That will cure AIDS. I think this technology is the way we can do it.”
For the video announcement showing that researchers have removed HIV from human cells:
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REFERENCES:
1. “Temple University Researchers Successfully Eliminate the HIV Virus from Cultured Human Cells for the First Time.” Temple University School of Medicine. Temple University, 21 July 2014. Web. 16 Jan. 2015.
2. “Researchers Successfully Eliminate HIV Virus from Cultured Human Cells.” YouTube. Temple University, 21 July 2014. Web. 19 Jan. 2015.
3. “U.S. Statistics.” AIDS.gov. AIDS.gov, n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2015.
4. “Is There a Cure for HIV or AIDS?” San Francisco AIDS Foundation. San Francisco AIDS Foundation, n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2015.
