Stem Cells Can Seek And Destroy HIV

By Dennis Romero Fri., Apr. 13 2012 at 8:03 AM

Fox

Why in the hell did George W. Bush dislike stem-cell research again?

It turns out that there's almost nothing these little babies can't do, and this week UCLA came up with a humdinger of a headline when it announced that stem cells it developed have been proven to seek and destroy HIV. Really.

Sort of like heat-seeking missiles:

The study, published this week in the journal PLoS Pathogens, says that HIV in "humanized" mice was attacked and destroyed by stem cells specifically designed to do so. However:

UCLA researchers say the stem cells would have be designed for nearly each individual in order to be effective. They ...

... placed the engineered stem cells into human thymus tissue that had been implanted in mice, allowing them to study the reaction in a living organism.
The engineered stem cells developed into a large population of mature, multi-functional HIV-specific CD8 cells that could specifically target cells containing HIV proteins. The researchers also discovered that HIV-specific T cell receptors [the killer stem cells] have to be matched to an individual in much the same way an organ is matched to a transplant patient.

Lead investigator Scott G. Kitchen of the UCLA AIDS Institute:

We believe that this study lays the groundwork for the potential use of this type of an approach in combating HIV infection in infected individuals, in hopes of eradicating the virus from the body.

Woo-hoo! The end is near. We can feel it.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

Tags:

AIDS, HIV, research, stem cell research, stem cells, UCLA

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Disciple

They should have clinical trials for humans at the earliest possible. If this is for life, this is God's will, those people infected with HIV somehow paid for it, they are not worthy for such long term medication and suffering which is a plague. I thank researchers like you guys for this and I hope this could touch your hearts as well, more people are struggling and in so much pain around the world, this is hope for them, keep it up guys, more are waiting for the cure. Help not only those who have it but also those people who are going to be infected, the world needs you. Take note that it's you that are given the knowledge to do these things that people like us don't understand. God has given this talents for good, take heart always. This would be a major breakthrough, this should be funded as soon as possible so that we could eliminate HIV and not make it evolve into different virus and do worst for our environment and to all living in it

Jimmy Lin

For adult stem cells they generally are taken from the said patient or donors, but the effect of adult stems cell cannot effectively combat diseases or injuries such as nerve/spinal type injuries, but it can regenerate cells, such as regenerating skin cells on burn victims. Essentially adult stem cell does a decent job at regenerating cells that usually replicate in adults, but not for other cells. For embryonic stem cells research purpose, they generally take the leftovers from fertility clinics that is not going to be used for fertilization after getting consent from the donor of course. Embryonic stem cell have the ability to become any cell, so it is effective in treating serious injuries and degenerative diseases.

CarlsbadVillageOrthodontist

That is great news, only I hope that it actually gets proper funding and clearance for it to be a possible treatment for HIV patients. I do wonder where do they usually get the stem cells that they use for research?