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Published online 30 June 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.924
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Designer protein tackles HIV
Enzyme could create tailor-made cells to be injected back into patients.
By creating a custom-designed enzyme that can sever a gene, researchers have made a key type of human blood cell more resistant to the HIV virus. They hope to use the technique to create disease-fighting infusions of a patient’s own genetically-altered cells.
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I must say this is a very novel approach to fighting HIV and definitely merits further study; I just have three concerns though. My first concern has already been addressed, how to keep the enzyme from inadvertently cutting the wrong segment of DNA. My second concern is the relatively low efficiency of the method, with only 40-60% of the CCR5 genes in T-cells being disrupted, that leaves the other 60-40% still functional, which still gives the virus a chance to propagate itself albeit a lower chance. Because of this, if this treatment was to make it through clinical trials, it may have to be used in conjunction with other anti-HIV treatments. My third concern may not be that big of a deal, what if the protein triggers some sort of immune response. Those suffering from HIV become immunocompromised as a result of the disease, so, that may not be a problem. But, hypothetically speaking, there may be a chance that what is left of their immune system may respond to the protein, however, that may depend on how much the disease has progressed in those patients.