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A
cure for HIV may be one step closer as scientists discover how to boost
immune cells which can find where the virus is hiding and kill it.
Pictured, an artwork of a HIV cell in the blood
- Some infections like HIV can't be cured as virus hides from immune system
- Experts discovered how to boost immune cells to find and kill virus cells
- Could pave way for treatment for other infections like glandular fever
- Experts hope human trials of such treatments can begin in five years
A cure for HIV is one step closer as scientists discover how to boost immune cells which can kill the virus.
Some infections, such as HIV, cannot be cured with antiviral therapy because the virus effectively hides from the immune system.
But
an international team of scientists has discovered a specialised type
of white blood cells can find these 'hidden' infected cells and destroy
them.
These specialist type of killer T cell are naturally found in the body during infection.
The researchers discovered how to boost their numbers and enhance their killing powers so they could destroy the HIV virus.
They could also cure other viral infections such as glandular fever virus, they said.
Other
infections such as Epstein-Barr virus, the cause of glandular fever,
may also hide and persist for many years, but become active when the
immune system is compromised.
The
researchers discovered that these specialised killer T cells, called
follicular cytotoxic T cells, can enter hiding spots inside lymphoid
tissue, where viruses can hide on treatment.
These hiding spots are called B cell follicles.
Another
of the study's authors, Mr Yew Ann Leong, from the Monash Biomedicine
Discovery Institute, said although some infections including HIV could
hide within B cell follicles, these killer T cells are specialised to
eradicate them.
'This
discovery will help us to design new therapies that could eventually
treat many different infections, including HIV,' Mr Leong said.
Dr
Axel Kallies, fellow lead researcher on the study, from the Walter and
Eliza Hall Institute, said the potential of this discovery is huge.
'It
helps us to understand how we may be able to treat diseases that affect
the immune system itself, such as HIV or B cell lymphoma,' Dr Kallies
said.
Co-author
Professor Sharon Lewin, of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection
and Immunity, said there were a few ways this discovery could be
translated into a treatment for people with chronic infections.
He said: 'We could potentially transfer these specialised super potent killer T cells into patients.
'Or
we could treat patients with proteins that can drag these specialised
killer T-cells into the right spots, specifically to the hot spots where
HIV can hide on antiviral treatment.'
Dr Yu said he hoped human trials of such treatments would begin within the next five years.
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