The Conversation news story
Currently, there are no treatments to clear HIV from the brain and spinal cord. Researchers have been looking into ways to reduce the stubborn inflammation HIV causes in the central nervous system.
T cells survey the brain and spinal cord using proteins called integrins. Embedded on the surface of cells, integrins allow immune cells to enter different areas of the body.
Researchers are studying whether blocking integrins could help combat inflammation in the brain by blocking immune cells from carrying HIV into the central nervous system. They tested their theory by giving rhesus macaque monkeys infected with SIV – a version of HIV that infects nonhuman primates – a multiple sclerosis drug that targets integrins.
However, when the researchers blocked an integrin called alpha-4 that allows T cells to migrate into the brain, they found that the amount of virus in the brain did not decrease. In fact, the viral load in some brain areas actually increased.
Read the full news story here.
Source : The Conversation
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