Posts tagged eliminating viruses
HIV and Drug-Resistant Mutations
10 years ago
by ADMIN
in HIV Research
HIV and Drug-Resistant Mutations
Antiretroviral therapies have come a long way in the treatment of HIV. Not only does the treatment slow the progress of the disease, in some cases even preventing AIDS for developing for years, it also allows for a rather normal life. This is all good news, and medical researchers are hoping that this upward trend continues. There is, however, a downside to the antiretroviral therapies being used. That is, HIV and drug-resistant mutations, or, in other words, viral mutation. Thankfully, the reason this mutation occurs may have been recently discovered.
A research team was imaging HIV and viewing computer models, in an effort to understand how and why these mutations were happening. HIV works by invading a host cell and then implanting its own blueprint into the cell’s information center. When this happens, the virus then programs the cell to make replicates of the virus, instead of a healthy human cell. Specific details that occurred during these complex procedures were noted. The team observed how certain common HIV drugs interact with the virus. In doing so, they came to some conclusions that may help explain why these HIV and drug-resistant mutations occur.
For example, when transferring information into the healthy cell, the drug attaches itself and creates a sort of bridge. The information that the HIV is trying to pass on is then put on this salt bridge. It then slides to and fro. Transfer of this important information becomes difficult and, usually, ineffective. This frustrates the replication of the HIV. Mutations seem to occur on the part of the virus in an effort to stop the bridge from forming. New, drug-resistant strains of HIV can prevent the bridge from being put up. This allows the virus’s information to be transmitted into the host cell, ultimately causing infection to occur.
Knowledge is power, so goes the saying. Scientists are delighted to have a new understanding of how and why these HIV and drug-resistant mutations occur. Armed with this information, they are increasingly confident that they can successfully create new medications that will counter the effects of mutated strains of HIV.
New Antivirals Show Promise
11 years ago
Researchers have pored over thousands of compounds to discover two that show great potential in providing antiviral properties. Study at the atomic level has revealed that they are able to fight a particular enzyme that is the key to eliminating viruses.
This rational approach to designing drugs for medicinal use may see more action due to the possible success of this research. More than 100,000 compounds were observed in an atomic manner, running through the national database of compounds to see which have the right properties for this particular application.
There is a tremendous need for antivirals today. Everything from HIV to the common cold will be affected by finding the right antiviral compounds to produce the next generation of medications. Antivirals can be used to prevent pneumonia or AIDS from cutting a life short prematurely, putting them at the top of the medical research industry’s to-do list.
There are over 50 different strains that cause adenoviruses; therefore it is difficult to find a single compound that is effective against all of them. Rather than being able to develop something preventative, it seems more viable to create drugs that can prevent the spread of diseases within the body. This has already been the approach with HIV up to this point.
Researchers were able to look into many compounds by creating a computation to check the proteins in each compound. This helps determine if the compound can perform certain tasks necessary for an antiviral. Of the 30 compounds that the calculations set aside, only two had the desired effect in lab tests. Still, finding these two compounds is a very promising discovery.
The current roadblock is the size of the two molecules. They are both too big to be used in developing drugs. The next step for researchers is to make things more compact so that they can get to work on drug development.
