Scientists announced that they have destroyed HIV-infected cells.
Scientists have just announced a potential breakthrough discovery in the fight against the HIV virus.
Researchers at Paris' Institut Pasteur say they have succeeded in destroying cells infected with a virus that has long been treated with antiviral drugs.
Currently, treatment drugs are not able to eliminate HIV virus from the human body, however on December 21, the medical journal Cell Metabolism published findings in which it confirmed that scientists have found a way to eliminate virus-infected cells.
“Current drug treatments are designed to stop the HIV virus from replicating but cannot eliminate it from the body,” a spokesperson for the Institut Pasteur said in a press release published on EurekaAlert.
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| Scientists announced that they have destroyed HIV-infected cells. |
HIV tends to target cells with high metabolic activity and “steal” energy to grow.
“By using metabolic inhibitors, the researchers managed to destroy infected cells, or so-called “reservoirs,” the release states.
Thus, the research opens up the possibility of finding ways to alleviate the disease by eliminating these 'reservoir' cells.
The next step of the research will be to evaluate the potential of the inhibitors in living organisms.
The study was funded by Institut Pasteur, AmfAR (American Foundation for AIDS Research) and Sidaction.
