Recently I read the article “ New
Advance: Engineered immune cells seem to block HIV” by Ryan on March 5,
2014 on CBS News http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gene-therapy-engineer-t-cells-block-hiv/
.
The article talks about how scientists
believe they have taken another step towards finding the cure for HIV. In the
human body, there is a protein that lies on the surface of white blood cells
called CCR5. CCR5 allows HIV to enter the host cell and infect it. This
infection can lead to other diseases such as AIDS.
Scientists modified T cells in the
immune system to lower the amount of CCR5 proteins on the surface of the cell. This
process is known as gene editing.. They did this because of the proteins is not of the
surface of the immune cell, HIV cannot enter the cell. The CCR5 change has the ability to make
people unable to catch HIV. Most of the research is being done at the
University of Pennsylvania and at Brigham and Women's Hospital in
Boston.
In order to see what happens when
you change the protein, scientists and researchers put about 10 billion SB-728-T cells into two groups of patients. T cells are a type
of white blood cell. This went on from May 2009 to about July 2012. Less than
half of the cells were modified.
After
about a week, every patient saw that the number of T cells in their body
started to decrease. Researchers also saw that the number of modified T cells
did not go down as much as the ones not modified. This is what made researchers
think that they had just created a security against HIV.
Jay
Johnson, 53, got this procedure done to him. After about three years, he is
feeling well and the modified cells are still moving along his body. When
talking to Dr. Jon LaPook, a CBS medical correspondent, he says, "It makes
me very excited. Hopeful, and it makes me want to ... shout out to the world
that there could be an end to this".
HIV has taken over Jay’s life, and the idea of having a cure to this
disease makes him extremely happy, as it would make anyone.
In
reaction to the research found in this procedure, Dr. Mark Kay and Dr. Bruce
Walker said "This proof-of- principle study is an important first step,
not just in the treatment of those infected with HIV but also for genome
editing in a broader sense". The doctors are saying that the study just
preformed is just one step out of many to come. They still have a large number
of work to do, and plan on making the treatment help a lot of people.
This relates to our biology class
because we were talking about the different types blood cells in the
circulatory system unit. We leaned that white blood cells help fight infection. I liked this article because I want to be a
nurse when I am older, and this takes place in the medical field. It is
interesting to know that a cure to an awful infection could be on the way. Many
lives would be saved if researchers can find a cure to HIV. A cure to HIV would be start to find many other cures for deadly diseases such as cancer.
Photo from:
 |
| HIV attacking T cells |
That is such great news!!! It's really cool that you chose to write a response about this article because we just covered the topic of HIVs and how they relate to cell marker. It was great topic to pick because the information is still fresh in our minds since class. I was compelled to read the article since I read the title, "A Step Closer to a Cure." I love anything to do with finding cures and I totally agree with you it;s amazing how a cure is on the way to curing such a terrible disease. I hope this foreshadows a bright future of discoveries!!!
ReplyDeleteThis connects perfectly to discussions in class about the plasma membrane and HIV. I remember talking about CCR5 a lot in class and that a low percentage of people are immune to the disease. The idea that everyone could be immune from HIV is a huge step in modern science, and could help lead to more success. I wonder if by using the same idea we could stop other diseases from affecting our body? Moving forward fro this idea could we eventually have a body that is more efficient in eliminating harmful diseases and take away the threat of sickness altogether.
ReplyDeleteGreat job, Emily! You summarized the article very well and I really enjoyed your connections to yourself and what we did in class. This was a perfect topic to write about, since we just learned about HIV. This step closer to a cure is fantastic because HIV can affect anyone. Only very few people are immune to it, so any step closer could save many lives. Hopefully they will find a cure soon.
ReplyDeleteGreat Job! I just read another article about this gel that can prevent HIV but I never heard about this. You did a really good job explaining how they are one step closer to finding a cure. I also think you did a good job at connecting this back to biology and you picture was really good. Good job!
ReplyDeleteI like how although a lot of the recent posts have been about HIV you found a way to make yours different. I like he multiple connections you threw in there. it made for a better post. i thought your wording was very good overall because i understood everything you were saying and didn't hit spots that substantially tripped me up or confused me. i think your post is great! Good job!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post Emily! You kept a converaational tone throughout which I liked. Aloso you went into detail on something that we just touched upon quickly in class which is interesting. I also want to have aposition in the medical field so I am very interested and excited about all of this. Being able to find a cure would be fantastic! You really took the time to make youor writing clear and I loved how you added an example of someone who had the procedure done! Great job.
ReplyDelete