Researchers found the weakest place in the human immunodeficiency virus
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Science has long known that because of the constant mutation, the AIDS virus can evade the attacks of the human immune system and the effects of drugs. But some components of the virus are so important to him that their changes would be akin to suicide - and it is these weaknesses that can become the ideal target for an antiviral vaccine. Typically, the vaccine is a preparation of a killed / weakened pathogen of the disease, on which the immune system "fulfills" the impact efficiency. Previous vaccines against immunodeficiency included viral proteins, which the immune system had to memorize, and in cases of getting into the body of HIV, attack it until complete destruction. But, as it turned out, HIV is rapidly mutating, so much so that the immune system of them no longer recognizes it. In other words, in the case of HIV, immunologists faced the problem of choosing a target in which one could "shoot" a vaccine.
During the study of viral proteins, scientists came to the conclusion that the immunodeficiency virus has especially important leucorrhoea, which it does not change under any circumstances. It is these protein-constants that can become the ideal target for an HIV vaccine.
Special mention deserves the fact that the search for such amino acid clusters used the theory of random matrices - a mathematical method, widely used in quantum physics. It was thanks to him that researchers were able to determine that a protein called Gag is the most constant component of a virus particle. In this protein, several groups of amino acids were found, the changes in which cause the greatest harm to the virus, and among these groups the most conservative was selected.
It turned out that the amino acids of this group are responsible for contacts between protein molecules that protect the genetic material of HIV: changes in this region would lead to the fact that the virus particle simply could not have gathered.
Clinical studies also confirmed the theoretical assumptions of scientists, so patients able to resist the virus, even without medication, had a large number of T-lymphocytes attacking the Gag cluster in the viral protein. To escape from the attack the virus could not, since mutations in this zone would become equivalent to suicide for him.
In the future, researchers want to find the virus several other weak spots - and then it will be possible to develop a vaccine that does not really leave HIV any chances.
[