Scientists have identified a key molecule that is used by the HIV virus to infect human cells. This may prove a substantial advancement in the fight against HIV.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
By BruceBlaus [CC BY-SA 4.0] (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons
A new type of microscopic technique managed us to isolate a small molecule called inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6). This molecule is “abducted” by the virus from the host cell granting itself protection from the host's immune system and to help it attack another cell. Experts have long wondered why the HIV capsid is so unstable once it is extracted from the virion. But this discovery answers that – it’s was a missing component: IP6.
It seems the immature HIV virus “abducts” the IP6 at the moment it leaves the cell in which it was created. It attaches itself to the capsid pores and that allows for up to a hundred times more virus DNA accumulation in the structure. Once we get to understand the processes in more detail me might be able to find a process that prevents the HIV virus from “abducting” the molecule thus reducing its potential for spreading by a significant amount.
- https://www.sciencealert.com/we-discovered-how-hiv-shields-itself-immune-system-viral-capsid-inositol-hexakisphosphate-ip6
- https://elifesciences.org/articles/35335
- https://elifesciences.org/articles/34772
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