DailyTech - New Virus Leads Drugs to HIV-Infected Cells

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Science New Virus Leads Drugs to HIV-Infected Cells
Tiffany Kaiser - August 9, 2011 1:20 PM

9 comment(s) - last by shane.carroll.. on Aug 12 at 12:29 PM

Dr. Pin Wang (Source: University of Southern California)

A USC researcher created a lentiviral vector that targets and flags HIV-infected cells

A researcher from the University of Southern California has developed a virus that identifies specific HIV-infected cells, later allowing drugs to kill these cells.

Dr. Pin Wang, a chemical engineering professor at the University of Southern California, has created a lentiviral vector that targets and flags HIV-infected cells. Then, drugs follow the flags left by the virus and destroy these cells.

This process was compared to a military practice of buddy lasing, where a soldier is on the ground illuminating a target with a laser while an aircraft launches a precision bombing strike.

A huge benefit to this new method is that the virus only flags cells infected by HIV, meaning the drugs only target these cells as well, leaving healthy cells alone. Traditional HIV treatment drugs are released into the body with no real direction, causing negative side effects because healthy and HIV-infected cells are targets.

"If you deplete all of the HIV-infected cells, you can at least partially solve the problem," said Wang.

But this new technique hasn't achieved the elimination of all HIV-infected cells quite yet. In tests, which have only been conducted in culture dishes so far, 35 percent of HIV-infected cells were destroyed. It may not be at 100 percent, but it could be used multiple times to increase effectiveness.

Wang noted that this is not a cure quite yet, but could reach that point one day with more research.

"This is an early stage of research, but certainly it is one of the options in that direction," said Wang.

The next step is to test the technique on mice, and eventually humans if all goes well.

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Typo

By adiposity on 8/9/2011 1:38:53 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
But this new technique has achieved the elimination of all HIV-infected cells quite yet.

hasn't?

RE: Typo

By Pubert on 8/9/2011 2:32:29 PM , Rating: 2

Looks like it has been fixed.

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RE: Typo

By slickr on 8/10/2011 1:15:09 PM , Rating: 1

If HIV was natural then we'd all not be born right now. Its a man made virus used for military combat that has been spread and as long as we fool ourselves that its not we can not tackle it.

We need to find out who created this virus, under who's orders and put them in jail. If they are already dead shut down the facility used to create the virus.

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RE: Typo

By priusone on 8/12/2011 8:20:31 AM , Rating: 2

I thought that HIV jumped from the primate to humans... somehow...

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RE: Typo

By shane.carroll on 8/12/2011 12:29:53 PM , Rating: 2

Haha of course, just put the creators in jail and shut down the facility that's producing it... that will suddenly render the millions of HIV positive people cured and they will magically not be able to spread it to others... Maybe the gov't 9/11 conspirators did it

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RE: Typo

By Tiffany Kaiser

on 8/9/2011 6:13:37 PM , Rating: 2

It has been fixed, thank you adiposity

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Can't... help... it!

By Zok on 8/9/2011 4:30:51 PM , Rating: 5

Pin Wang.

Immunesystem

By geddarkstorm on 8/9/2011 2:37:51 PM , Rating: 4

Sadly, the immunesystem makes viral therapies very difficult. Even in the immunocompromised. Once the adptive immunesystem kicks in, it's unlikely this lentivirus will survive long enough to flag a relevant amount of cells. On the other hand, the flags themselves could be used to direct the immunesystem to wipe out infected cells--no drugs necessary.

None the less, this is brilliant research, following in the foot steps of some great work that has been laid down with viral therapies. More than just HIV could be targetted: cancer, other virus infections like Hepatitis C, even chronic intracellular bacteria (samonella), and more.

I wish them every success.