Posted on 07/16/2008 11:11:38 AM PDT by LibWhacker
ScienceDaily (July 16, 2008) Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) researchers at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston believe they have uncovered the Achilles heel in the armor of the virus that continues to kill millions.
The weak spot is hidden in the HIV envelope protein gp120. This protein is essential for HIV attachment to host cells, which initiate infection and eventually lead to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or AIDS. Normally the bodys immune defenses can ward off viruses by making proteins called antibodies that bind the virus. However, HIV is a constantly changing and mutating virus, and the antibodies produced after infection do not control disease progression to AIDS. For the same reason, no HIV preventative vaccine that stimulates production of protective antibodies is available.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
gp120, glycoprotein 120, is pretty slick. Enter gp120 conformational changes and hiv binding into the query box at PubMed. I got 129 hits. This binding site is very well hidden, IMHO.
Great, now can we get some more money put on cancer and alzheimers research?
Catalytic antibodies to amyloid β peptide in defense against Alzheimer disease Link to free article
Catalytic antibodies to HIV: Physiological role and potential clinical utility. Link to abstract by all of the same authors as the previous link.
I’m sure Whoopi “the f-ing president” Goldberg will find some way to make this into bad news. Thanks neverdem.
whoops, thanks Ernest.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.