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How would that excise the viral sequence from the already rewritten dna in cells previously infected, rather than just slow further new uninflected cells from b
by jjtheblunt 4y ago
How would that excise the viral sequence from the already rewritten dna in cells previously infected, rather than just slow further new uninflected cells from being infected?
The point is, in the presence of a retrovirus with its reverse transcriptase trickery, an organism is a chimera, populated by dna-distinct cells (for example, never infected cells vs cells previously infected and thereby holding modified dna, who would send out new virus during their own replication).
- jljljl 4y agoThe "assuming it could be done" in my comment referred to "finding a way to force latent cells to release their viral load rather than remaining latent". I'm not an immunologist, but if there was a mechanism, it would probably kill the rewritten cells. Then the released viruses would be eliminated with anti-retrovirals. If this same mechanism kept infected cells from remaining latent, eventually you would clear the virus. So I don't know the answer to your question, but my answer was assuming an answer existed :)
- f6v 4y agoSeveral things come to mind. First, you don’t need to remove viral DNA from cells. Just make them over-express HIV and trigger cytotoxic lymphocytes or antibody-mediated killing. You end up wiping all the infected cells. But then, of course, patient is left with compromised immunity. To solve this, you could make a stem cell transplant from a compatible donor. Alternatively, harvest healthy cells before the treatment and transplant them back after. This is from the top of my had, I’m not an expert in the field.