The Future of the Prevention of HIV

An article in ScienceDaily says that the researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have figured out how regulation occurs of the protein that blocks HIV-1 from multiplying in white blood cells. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS and this discovery could serve as a potential elimination of the virus. It can eliminate the residue of the HIV-1 that remains in patients that have undergone antiretroviral therapy which reduces HIV-1 levels in the blood until it is undetectable, but it still remains in the phages. Dr. Felipe Diaz-Griffero says, “If you stop antiretroviral therapy, the virus emerges from these reservoirs and returns to the general circulation in a matter of days, as if the patient had never been treated.” Now that they have identified the protein and its regulation, they can prevent the HIV-1 from arising form reservoirs, eliminating them completely. Scientists have always known that the protein is SAMHD1 but they have never been able to figure out why it only prevents HIV-1 replication in certain cells but not other crucial ones such as macrophages. SAMHD1 exists in two forms: phosphorylated and unphosphorylated. A cell is only protected from the replication of the HIV-1 when there is unphosphorylated SAMHD1 proteins present. They are now trying to figure out a way to permanently keep SAMHD1 in its unphosphorylated state.

[caption id="attachment_8000" align="aligncenter" width="625" caption="T-cell Infected by HIV "][/caption]

I think this is a great discovery in science. It can potentially lead to a cure of a disease that people have been searching for the longest time. It would be a great success in medicine if this technique could be introduced to the public. However, I am curious to know how they will be able to account for the differences that exist from patient to patient.