Until now, treatments against AIDS have come up against the elimination of the cells of the immune system where the virus is hiding.
Current highgly active anti-retroviral (HARRT) treatments cannot reach the AIDS virus. However, researchers have uncovered the mechanisms allowing the virus to resist these current treatments.
The treatment should destroy cells containing a virus, while allowing the immune system to regenerate itself with healthy cells.
This study proves that the reservoirs of HIV are not homogeneous, but on the contrary are “made up of several different types of immune cells”, according to Dr Jean-Pierre Routy, who collaborated on the study.
The researchers would now have “whole new options to explore over the next few years to fight HIV”, according to Nicolas Chomont, co-author of the study.
Source: www.nature.com
