Modified blood stem cells can eradicate HIV
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Modified blood stem cells can help create a fairly large number of T lymphocytes that could perfectly recognize and kill immune cells that are affected by HIV.
Researchers from the California Institute in Los Angeles (United States) have developed another method to combat the AIDS virus: it is necessary to inject stem cells into HIV. Work in this direction started a couple of years ago, when the same group detected a special receptor in T-killer cells, with which these lymphocytes have all the chances to recognize and destroy other immune cells that have already infected the immunodeficiency virus.
In other words, our immunity has a tool to cope with its disease; The only problem is that this weapon is not enough. T-lymphocytes, capable of recognizing cells with the virus, are too few to completely eradicate HIV.
Then the researchers went on a detour. They took the sequence of DNA encoding the HIV-recognizing receptor, and inserted it into the human stem cells. After that, these cells were planted in the human thymus (thymus) tissues, which, in addition, were implanted in mice (rodents do not suffer from AIDS, so it was necessary to go on creating the artificial origin of the hybrid mouse system). As we are informed by researchers in the PLoS Pathogens web journal, transplanted modified stem cells produced a large number of mature T-killers with an HIV-recognizing receptor. When mice were infected with a virus, T-killers found and exterminated the virus with infected cells wherever possible. A few weeks after the introduction of antiviral stem cells, the level of infected lymphocytes significantly decreased, and the healthy ones increased, which indicated the combat success of the resulting T-killers.
The consequences are very encouraging, but they have one weak point, and the researchers themselves point to it. To create human AIDS in a rodent, they needed to pretty much change the immune system of the mouse. In consequence of HIV in such a biological system may be more vulnerable: for example, it can mutate not so intensively - namely, multiple mutational variability is its main weapon.
In a word, the prospects for such a method of treatment can be judged only after experiments conducted in more natural conditions. Probably, as scientists say, in order to strengthen the antiviral properties of T cells, it is necessary to introduce into the stem progenitors several types of virus-recognizing receptors
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