Did you guys hear the good news? German doctors have cured AIDs. Actually they didn't start out trying to cure AIDs, they were simply trying to do a bone marrow transplant for a patient with leukemia & AIDs. This however is not just any old marrow transplant. The marrow comes from a guy with a resistance to the HIV, meaning he has the CCR5-Delta 32 gene. So it was a pretty new procedure. The patient probably figured he had nothing to lose. Anyway in the end, the doctors realised that the HIV in the patient's bloodstream reduced to a extremely low level and so the guy was cured of his AIDs.
For those who are unaware of what stem cells are. Stem cells are part of the repair system of multicellular organisms. These reproduce through mitotic division and can differentiate into different cell types. Stem cells can be found in the bone marrow and since the marrow came from a donor with CCR5-Delta 32 gene it grows into T cells with receptors that does not allow the HIV to "dock" and insert its viral DNA which causes the cells to be infected. The bad news is finding people who have the HIV resistance gene CCR5-Delta 32 because this gene is completely absent in East Asians. This gene is more prevalent (about 10%) in European populations as it was a resistance built up after the Black Death plague. So like they say, that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
Well I guess the first biotech to find an Asian embryo with the CCR5-Delta 32 will be a forerunner in stem cell lines producing marrow to cure the rich AIDs victims. Meanwhile its still retroviral treatments.
For those who are unaware of what stem cells are. Stem cells are part of the repair system of multicellular organisms. These reproduce through mitotic division and can differentiate into different cell types. Stem cells can be found in the bone marrow and since the marrow came from a donor with CCR5-Delta 32 gene it grows into T cells with receptors that does not allow the HIV to "dock" and insert its viral DNA which causes the cells to be infected. The bad news is finding people who have the HIV resistance gene CCR5-Delta 32 because this gene is completely absent in East Asians. This gene is more prevalent (about 10%) in European populations as it was a resistance built up after the Black Death plague. So like they say, that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
Well I guess the first biotech to find an Asian embryo with the CCR5-Delta 32 will be a forerunner in stem cell lines producing marrow to cure the rich AIDs victims. Meanwhile its still retroviral treatments.
