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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, July 15, 2002

British Scientists Find New Gene Against HIV

A team led by British scientists found a new gene in humans that acts as a defense against attack from HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.


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A team led by British scientists found a new gene in humans that acts as a defense against attack from HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Reported online by British science journal Nature on Sunday, the CEM15 gene represents a new type of natural resistance to viral activity that could be exploited to produce new treatments for AIDS.

The long sought-after molecule, found in the immune system's T-cells that are destroyed by HIV, prevents the virus from replicating within them.

It would stop HIV infection, but is normally overcome by a small HIV protein called Vif (virion infectivity factor), that suppresses its activity. Vif is essential to HIV's survival by overriding a mysterious natural HIV defense mechanism in T-cells.

Michael Malim of King's College London and his colleagues studied cells infected with a form of HIV that lacked Vif. They found that the CEM15 gene interfered with the HIV life-cycle, rendering any new virus particles non-infectious.

"These are very significant findings and could open the door tonew treatments for HIV/AIDS in the future," Malim said.

"Our research has identified CEM15 as a key component of the system in question. If we can find a way to block the action of Vif, it would allow CEM15 to work properly and prevent HIV from spreading," he added.


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