Another method to silence viruses .

[thorium1010]

medicalxpress.com/news/2014-11-scientists-mechanism-spontaneous-hiv.html

Sorry, if it's in the wrong forum, is this method feasible?. I know in the genetic code, there are many stretches that resemble virus code(apparently silenced) , it's quite interesting they are using that as a starting point to try to silence Hiv.

 

[Raiyan]

You can genetically alter a virus to stop it from causing further harm. Just like flu vaccines people inactivate the virus' capability to multiply (genetically alter) and make a "cure."

 

[Torbjorn_L]

Feasible in theory, but it depends on where HIV hide and if they can get it to work. The interviewed scientists were skeptical on both accounts, I take it. So it places among the large class of "extraordinary claims without even ordinary evidence."

I know in the genetic code, there are many stretches that resemble virus code(apparently silenced)

FWIW, this is confusing the genome with the genetic code, which is the rules that are followed in producing proteins out of the genome. [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_code ]

 

[Ygggdrasil]

Human cells contain a protein called APOBEC3G that's part of our innate anti-viral defenses. This protein recognizes single-stranded DNA (an intermediate produced in the lifecycle of retroviruses), and causes mutations in the DNA in the hope of inactivating the virus. Most retroviruses, including HIV, however, have evolved a protein known as Vif that helps to destroy APOBEC3G before it can act on the viral DNA. It would be interesting to see how the cells in the patients with the silenced HIV got around the action of Vif.

There has been some work developing similar ideas for HIV therapy. Earlier this year, a group reported using genome enginnering tools to inactivate integrated provirus, essentially creating an silenced virus as seen in the patients of the study reported by the OP (subsequent work has used the genome enginneering tools to fully cut the integrated virus out of infected cells).

However, we're still very far away from using these genome engineering tools as therapeutics. A major challenge (in addition to proving that they're safe and won't induce mutations in other regions of the genome) is figuring out how to deliver them to all infected cells. If some population of cells escapes editing, viral infection can arise from that small population of untreated cells.

 

[LudusRex]

This method is definitely feasible and has been a topic of interest and research for many years. The idea of using stretches of genetic code to silence viruses is known as RNA interference (RNAi) and has been successfully used in various studies to target and silence specific viruses, including HIV. By using RNAi, scientists can essentially "turn off" the expression of certain genes, including those that are crucial for virus replication and survival.

The use of RNAi as a potential treatment for HIV is promising, but there are still many challenges that need to be addressed before it can be considered a viable option for patients. One of the main challenges is delivering the RNAi molecules to the specific cells that are infected with the virus. Additionally, viruses are known to mutate quickly, which could potentially render the RNAi treatment ineffective over time.

Overall, this is an exciting area of research and has the potential to lead to new and effective treatments for viruses like HIV. However, further studies and advancements are needed before this method can be widely used in clinical settings.