New study of barrier cells may help combat AIDS

New research has found cells that protect the body from outside threats are still immune when relocated to the intestine of mice.

Professor David Artis, PhD, from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine, said he believes this discovery will assist in HIV/AIDS research by allowing scientists to relocate immune cells, typically found in barrier sites such as the skin, gut and lungs, to sites prone to harboring HIV.

If the immune cells can provide resistance to HIV, it is possible doctors will be able to reduce the number of HIV cases that progress into AIDS.

Accessibility to HIV testing is becoming increasingly simple. People who believe they may have contracted HIV or another sexually transmitted disease (STD) can use online testing services from the privacy of their home.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), rapid testing for HIV typically takes less than two hours.

The CDC urges those who have an STD to seek treatment, since STD carriers are anywhere between two and five times more likely to contract HIV than uninfected persons.

If viable in humans, Artis’s barrier cell experiment would be beneficial to those who have received a positive HIV test, but want to take precautions against the virus turning into AIDS.