New development is able to defeat HIV (3 photos)

Recently discovered by scientists KHNYN protein has been namedthe missing element in the natural antiviral system, as it is capable of killing viruses, identifying viral genomes in the human body and acting on repetitive elements in them. According to scientists, in order to significantly slow down the reproduction of RNA viruses, even such dangerous ones as HIV, the expression of the KHNYN protein should be increased.

How to do it? Researchers have found that another protein, ZAP, destroys viruses, connecting with their RNA in a specific region where cytosine alternates with guanine. Since such a sequence is rarely found in the HIV genome, ZAP itself is not able to overcome the HIV virus.
And in a company with KHNYN ZAP, it acquires properties that not only have a stronger effect on the virus itself, but also, as mentioned above, increase the expression of the KHNYN protein.

This feature was noticed by researchers fromKing's College London when trying to improve the work of ZAP. They increased the impact of KHNYN in cells affected by the normal form of HIV and the genetically modified version of HIV that became vulnerable to ZAP.
As a result: the ability to multiply normal HIV declined by about five times. In the case of modified HIV, reproduction of copies decreased 400 times.

Thanks to even more research has becomeit is clear that KHNYN and ZAP work only in a coupling. Even a vulnerable version of HIV could not be defeated by the KHNYN protein. And in cells where KHNYN did not work, ZAP protein also stopped working. Scientists have concluded that it is highly likely that KHNYN cuts viral RNA, which binds ZAP, and then the virus is destroyed.

Source: phys.org