Researchers use bacteria to prevent HIV from invading white blood cells

An international team of biologists has reported developing a new form of HIV therapy, which uses bacteria to keep the virus from invading a specific type of white blood cell.

HIV devastates the human immune system by infecting CD4+ T-cells, a type of white blood cell that triggers an immune response when it detects foreign bodies in the blood. The virus hijacks these cells, taking over their DNA machinery in order to make more copies of HIV.

As reported in the journal Human Gene Therapy, researchers interrupted this process by introducing a bacterial gene called mazF into CD4+ cells. The mazF protein, which naturally interferes with genetic transcription, prevented HIV from replicating itself within the cell.

The team concluded that such gene therapies may open the door for treatments that increase human immunity to HIV.

Currently, HIV is a lifelong infection. Those with the disease may suffer from numerous complications, including pneumonia, skin lesions, thrush, tuberculosis and certain forms of cancer.

The National Institutes of Health stress the importance of sexual screening in preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Online testing services may allow individuals with unusual physical symptoms to discretely determine the state of their sexual health.