Scientists have announced a potentially major breakthrough
in the fight against HIV.
Researchers at Paris' Institut Pasteur claim they have
successfully destroyed cells infected with the virus, which is typically
treated with antiretroviral drugs.
The drugs are unable to remove the virus from the body, but
medical journal Cell Metabolism yesterday published findings which announced
that scientists had found a way to eliminate infected 'reservoir'
cells.
In a news release uploaded to EurekaAlert, an Institut
Pasteur spokesperson said: "The antiretroviral treatment used today is
designed to block HIV infection but it is not able to eliminate the virus from
the body."
"The virus remains in reservoirs - the CD4 T lymphocyte
immune cells, the main targets of HIV."
HIV targets cells with high metabolic activity and 'hijacks'
their energy in order to multiply.
The release later states: "Thanks to metabolic activity
inhibitors, the researchers have managed to destroy these infected cells, or
"reservoirs", ex vivo."
It concludes by stating that the research opens the
possibility of new pathways towards remission by eliminating the 'reservoir'
cells.
The next step in research will be assessing the potential of
metabolic inhibitors 'in vivo' - tested on living organisms.
In theory, if the viral load is low enough, destroying the
cell HIV hides in and draws energy from could keep it from spreading in the
body and, perhaps, eradicate it altogether, it is hoped.
The study was funded by the Institut Pasteur, AmfAR (American
Foundation for AIDS research) and Sidaction.