SOME POSSESS IMMUNITY TO AIDS : RESEARCHERS IN NEW YORK, BRUSSELS FIND PROTECTIVE MUTANT GENE.Byline: Lawrence K. Altman The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times A genetic mutation Noun 1. genetic mutation - (genetics) any event that changes genetic structure; any alteration in the inherited nucleic acid sequence of the genotype of an organism chromosomal mutation, mutation protects some people from infection with the AIDS virus AIDS virus n. See HIV. even when they are repeatedly exposed to it through sex, two groups of scientists reported Thursday. The findings by researchers, working independently of each other at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center is a medical research institution dedicated to finding a cure for HIV/AIDS. It is headed by prominent scientist Dr. David Ho, and located in New York City. in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. and at the Free University of Brussels The Free University of Brussels may refer to one of two Belgian universities, both located in Brussels, Belgium:
The scientists said the findings might lead to the development of pills or injections to prevent HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. infection or to additional AIDS treatments. The mutant gene mutant gene n. A gene that has lost, gained, or exchanged some of the material it received from its parent, resulting in a permanent transmissible change in its function. controls production of a protein that is needed to allow the entry into cells of HIV-1, the most common form of the AIDS virus. The gene is called CKR-5 and the protein it makes is located on the surface of certain immune cells. People who inherit two copies of the mutant CKR-5 gene, one from each parent, cannot make the protein. So if a sex partner transmits HIV to them, the virus cannot dock with a molecule on the surface of the CD-4 immune cells. Thus, HIV-1 remains harmless in those people. Those with a double dose of the mutant gene also fail to produce a protein that helps relay chemical messages between cells. They are healthy, however, and seem to have no other disease condition. The Aaron Diamond team predicted that further studies would show that 1 percent of people of Western European heritage carry a double dose of the mutant gene. The Brussels group found the mutant gene in low rates among blacks and Japanese, and the Aaron Diamond team found it in low rates among Venezuelans. But the significance of the findings remains uncertain without additional studies. The New York team is publishing its results today in the journal Cell, and the Brussels group is publishing its results in the Aug. 22 issue of the journal Nature. Scientists have long known that HIV needed the CD-4 receptor to invade immune cells, but they also knew that additional receptors were needed. Discovery of CKR-5 and another co-receptor, fusin, was reported in June, quickly giving rise to the findings that the American and Belgian groups arrived at through different approaches. The discovery at the Aaron Diamond center had its origin about two years ago when two men asked for an explanation of how they had escaped infection despite repeated exposure to HIV-1 from unprotected sex Unprotected sex refers to any act of sexual intercourse in which the participants use no form of barrier contraception. Sexually transmitted infections Specifically, unprotected sex . Although several such cases were known, most scientists suspected that it was a matter of chance. But the Aaron Diamond team, led by Dr. Nathaniel Landau, found that they could not infect immune cells taken from the two men even with 1,000 times the amount of virus usually used to infect such cells in the laboratory. ``They knew that they were somehow different, and they were right,'' said Dr. Richard Koup, another member of the New York team. |
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