New research has isolated 273 human proteins that HIV depends on for survival and hopefully opened the door to new and better treatments.
In January, a team of eight Harvard Medical School researchers published an online article in the journal Science. In the article, they revealed they had isolated 273 proteins in the human body that HIV/AIDS needs to survive. The researchers further characterized four proteins as ‘important for HIV growth,’ according to Abraham Brass, one of the researchers.
The HIV/AIDS virus grows by taking over human cells, and researchers treated and tested all 21,000 human proteins using a technique known as RNA interference to pin point the specific proteins the virus depends on for survival.
While it is yet unclear what clinical use the research will have, it has been considered a very important step in better understanding the relationship between HIV and the human body.
Robert Gallo, one of the discoverers of HIV, was quoted in a National Press Foundation article as saying the findings were ‘one of the best papers on HIV for this coming decade.’
Local expert Professor Martyn French of Royal Perth Hospital also hailed the findings as ‘very important’ for both its methods and implications for possible drug therapy targets.
‘Firstly, the investigators used new methods to identify cell proteins that HIV uses to infect and replicate in human cells. Secondly, the many proteins that were identified provide new targets that might be inhibited by drug therapy,’ Prof French said.
According to Dr Brass, his team’s research is significant because it reveals the virus’ dependence on the human body – something that could be used to improve future treatments. .
‘Our work begins to reveal the many host dependencies that HIV possesses. Each HIV dependency discovered represents a potential weakness of the virus that might be exploited therapeutically,’ he told OiP.
Following on from the findings of the Harvard team, Dr Brass hopes ‘this work will stimulate research in HIV host dependence and result in host-directed therapeutic targets.’
In short, the discovery of 273 proteins may open the door to new and more effective therapies for people living with HIV/AIDS.
