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US researchers inch closer to 'Kick and Kill’ hidden HIV-infected cells, but how does it work?

WION Web Team
New YorkUpdated: Jan 16, 2022, 01:35 PM IST
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Researchers affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have improved the strategy devised in 2017 to 'Kick and Kill’ hidden HIV-infected cells (representative image).   Photograph:(Reuters)

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Researchers around the world have been making concerted efforts to find a cure for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In a new development in this regard, some researchers affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have improved the strategy devised in 2017 to 'Kick and Kill’ hidden HIV-infected cells

 

Researchers around the world have been making concerted efforts to find a cure for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).   

In a new development in this regard, some researchers affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have improved the strategy devised in 2017 to 'Kick and Kill’ hidden HIV-infected cells.  

These researchers have inched a step closer to discovering a cure for the disease by focusing on infected cells that may be dormant in the body.   

The US-based university's scientists used cells produced naturally by the body's immune system to achieve the breakthrough. It can help in controlling or possibly eradicating the virus.  

The study was published in ‘Nature Communications’ journal this week. It may prove to be a boon for HIV positive patients.   

The strategy utilises immune system produced cells to kill infected ones hiding in the body, potentially eradicating them, said Dr Jocelyn Kim, assistant professor (medicine), infectious diseases division, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA.  

"These findings show proof-of-concept for a therapeutic strategy to potentially eliminate HIV from the body, a task that had been nearly insurmountable for many years. The study opens a new paradigm for a possible HIV cure in the future," said Kim, who is also the lead author of the study.  

(With inputs from agencies)