I actually found an article. I saw something on this matter yesterday, but it wasn't as well written. At least not for the purposes of this blog. This piece, is about a discovery at a Japanese university that could be another step in the fight against HIV.
This is a little complicated, follow the links for more clarity. The researchers were studying leukemia, a blood cancer. Specifically, they were examining HTLV-1, a retrovirus. They were interested in how this could lead to adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma. While studying this, they made a discovery.
They found a genetic silencer within the virus. This allows the virus to go into a dormant state & not be cause a reaction to the immune system This way it can lay dormant & reemerge at a later time, much like HIV.
Even though HIV has been known to be capable of this. There's been no means to manipulate a "silencer" until now. They found the specific aspect of the HTLV-1 virus' genome that contains the silencer. They introduced it into HIV cells. It was able to put the virus into a dormant state & reduce replication. This could help treat HTLV-1, HIV & other retroviral infections.
It's just a beginning, but it's got promise. I hope it leads to something tangible. This could help a lot of people. Give this a read.
That's all for now, take care.
Cya...
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