Scientists unlock mystery of why some who get HIV never get AIDS

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

May 7, 2010 - Harvard/MIT researchers appear to have solved one of the great mysteries of HIV -- and may at last be on track to develop an effective AIDS vaccine.

The mystery is why about one in 200 people infected with HIV -- dubbed "elite controllers" -- never get AIDS. It's long been thought that solving this secret would lead to the Holy Grail of AIDS research: an effective vaccine.

Now researchers led by MIT's Arup Chakraborty, PhD, and Harvard's Bruce D. Walker, MD, report that elite controllers have a rare set of genes that allow their immune systems to unleash killer T cells with unusual powers. The findings come from an elegant series of experiments, including study of 1,100 elite controllers and 800 people with AIDS.

Normal killer T cells work as a team. It usually takes a swarm of these cells, which recognize different bits of a virus, to kill virus-infected cells. But this process is too slow to stop fast-mutating viruses such as HIV. The astonishing ability of HIV to change its spots via mutation is one reason the normal immune system can't control the virus.

The killer T cells in elite controllers don't need help. They knock off virus-infected cells all by themselves. Moreover, they are "broadly reactive" and can kill off mutant HIV variants as they arise.

There's a downside to having broadly reactive killer T cells: They don't always leave normal cells alone. This makes elite controllers more susceptible to autoimmune diseases.

But there's an upside, too. Elite controllers aren't just impervious to HIV. They're also protected against other fast-growing viruses such as hepatitis C virus.

As it turns out, normal people have a few of these "broadly reactive" killer T cells. A few may be all that are needed.

"We think they might be coaxed into action with the right vaccine," Chakraborty says in a news release.

http://www.webmd.com/hiv-aids/news/20100507/hiv-vaccine-secret-found-in-elite-controllers

Arup Chakraborty

Bruce Walker

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Sooner or later they were going to figure that HIV thingy out. And then there'll be the next little bug or whatever that takes down scores of people. It's an ongoing battle in which mother nature will ultimately always have the upper hand.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Sooner or later they were going to figure that HIV thingy out. And then there'll be the next little bug or whatever that takes down scores of people. It's an ongoing battle in which mother nature will ultimately always have the upper hand.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Maybe we should all just give up and commit seppuku dog. If the entire human race disembowels itself in one go, all human viruses will be cured permanently.

I am a genius.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Maybe we should all just give up and commit seppuku dog. If the entire human race disembowels itself in one go, all human viruses will be cured permanently.

I am a genius.

Well, that's kind of throwing the kid out with the bathwater. It's actually less genius than it might seem on the surface.

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

Keep your ####### outta yo buddies a$$ might help! Never suck a ####### with shite on it!

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

[HannahP 119]

This makes elite controllers more susceptible to autoimmune diseases.

Ew! Do not want.

(RA, MS, teh lupus...etc)

[Jenn! 918]

Amazing discovery!

[Niels Bohr 72]

Interesting...