HIV in Biotechnology
Why is this Important?
A study from 2015 estimated that there are 36.7 million people who were living with HIV that year; 1.8 million of them being children. The majority of people infected live in poor countries and don't have the medicine to help them and many aren't even aware of infection until their immune system is far too weak and die. But since the HIV outbreak in 1981, researchers and medicine have been able to come together to help those suffering and help save their lives by helping their immune system become stronger.
Methods for Accomplishment
There are a couple of research teams working on finding the cure for stem cells and HIV. The City of Hope Medical Center is working on using a type of gene therapy called zinc finger nucleus that is going to make a cut in the CCR5 gene to make the blood stem cells HIV resistant and then reintroduce them it into the body. The research team of the University of California, Davis is currently taking the infected persons blood forming stem cells and inserting 3 anti-HIV genes and then placing them back into the body after purification. These stem cells communicate with one another and make an HIV resistant immune system. And lastly, Calimmune Inc. is genetically modifying immune cells and stem cells to be HIV resistant.
But, When Will This Happen?
Soon! (Hopefully) After the case of Timothy Brown in 2010, a man who was suffering from HIV received a bone marrow transplant that contained new immune stem cells that helped him "cure" his HIV as they contained the mutated CCR5 gene. This inspired many companies and researchers to keep working. Today, 2 out of the 3 projects described above are in a clinical trail period. They're testing on HIV infected animals. The trials on mice have proved to decrease HIV rates from 80 to 95%! They're working hard!
​Progress and Promise of Stem Cell Research: HIV
Cures for HIV
Who is most affected by HIV? Can you find yourself?
Other Methods
Medications and other products have been created to help patients deal with the HIV and assist them in slowing the virus down. There are currently three main antiretrovirals that have been approved by the FDA. Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) drugs inhibit reverse transcriptase, which is an enzyme that HIV needs in order to infect cells. Non-nucleosides also stop reverse transcription from occurring by binding to the site where the virus attaches to the white blood cells, thus inactivating it. The third is Protease Inhibitors that stop maturing HIV viruses from maturing and spreading. These methods do not cure the HIV but can help those infected live longer lives.