Human protein found to hinder HIV production

No cure for HIV currently exists. However, microbiologists at McGill University have found that a naturally occurring protein - bone marrow stromal cell antigen-2, or BST-2 - may restrict the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus through the body in several ways.

Primarily, the team found that it prevents infected human cells from releasing newly copied viruses into the bloodstream.

The protein appears to tether them to cell walls, they wrote, hence its alternate name, tetherin.

Prior to this latest discovery, BST-2 was already known to partially inhibit a stage in the virus’s life-cycle. When replicating, viral proteins cut long strands of harmless HIV genetic material into multiple, newly active viruses. BST-2 appears to block this process to a degree, note the study’s authors.

They conclude that the protein may one day contribute to more effective HIV treatments.

Today, individuals with HIV often battle the virus and its symptoms with expensive cocktails of antivirals and antibiotics. Those concerned that they have contracted the disease may consider investing in online testing services in order to establish the state of their sexual health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that, between 2003 and 2006, the number of Americans living with HIV increased by 11 percent.