Scientists have presented a full picture of the spread of HIV in the human body
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Scientists from the Gladstone Institute, led by Nevan Krogan, announced the completion of a study that explains the mechanisms of the spread of the immunodeficiency virus in the human body. This discovery will help to stop the spread of HIV / AIDS.
Dr. Krogan conducted the study in the laboratory of the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF).
In his work, published in the journal Nature, Dr. Krogan describes how HIV infects specific human proteins, which leads to a weakening of the defenses of the body.
AIDS has claimed the lives of more than 25 million people worldwide. In the United States alone, more than one million people live with HIV / AIDS. Dr. Krogan's experiments show the prospects for developing effective antiretroviral therapy for people with HIV.
In his experiments, Dr. Krogen researched two parts of protein interactions. First, he conducted a systematic, global analysis of all potential interactions that occur between human proteins and proteins produced by HIV (HIV proteins). Secondly, he separated into a separate group all the interactions of viral proteins and human proteins, which contribute to the spread of HIV in the body. The most important was the relationship between the human protein CBFß and the HIV protein Vif.
In HIV infection, a specific factor called APOBEC3G, which acts as a molecular checkpoint, is not activated, preventing the virus from reaching its goal of CD4 T-leukocytes. Dr. Krogan discovered that when the Vif HIV protein binds to the human CBFß protein, Vif activity intensifies and inactivation of APOBEC3G results in infection of the CD4 T immunodeficiency virus.
"This study is the first comprehensive view of how HIV interacts with the components of the human body cells," says Judith G. Greenberg, Ph.D., Acting Director of the National Institutes of Health. "This work is a good example of how biophysical studies can improve our understanding of the disease and point the way to developing potential therapeutic methods."
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