Medical therapy for HIV/AIDS has evolved staggeringly since HIV's first appearance in the 1930's when HIV is thought to have developed from SIV in primates. Reverse transcriptase inhibitors are an effective treatment, as reverse transcriptase (RT) (enzyme carried by the virus that makes DNA copies of HIV's RNA genes) blocks this process by impersonating a chemical RT needs to use. Additionally protease inhibitors can be used as agents to block the virus's enzyme that cuts other protein's in HIV that are needed to assemble more copies of its self.
In a previous blog I mentioned the CD4 receptors that HIV binds to for entry (using endocytosis) into the host cell. But there are other surface receptors that can inhibit HIV. The CD8 receptor secretes chemokines, and research suggests that HIV has to bind to another receptor (CCR5) to stop this secretion process. It is fascinating to know that people with a deficient ccr5 gene are resistant to the HIV-1 virus, and this excites scientists with hope of taking advantage of this pathway, for future therapies. All though it is unlikely that a cure will come from this past advance alone, any advance in terms of understanding in science is always a positive.
Thank you for reading.
I will be posting blogs more regularly throughout the summer.
In a previous blog I mentioned the CD4 receptors that HIV binds to for entry (using endocytosis) into the host cell. But there are other surface receptors that can inhibit HIV. The CD8 receptor secretes chemokines, and research suggests that HIV has to bind to another receptor (CCR5) to stop this secretion process. It is fascinating to know that people with a deficient ccr5 gene are resistant to the HIV-1 virus, and this excites scientists with hope of taking advantage of this pathway, for future therapies. All though it is unlikely that a cure will come from this past advance alone, any advance in terms of understanding in science is always a positive.
Thank you for reading.
I will be posting blogs more regularly throughout the summer.
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