A peptide vs HIV

2007/06/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Biokimika
• Biologia
• Osasuna
• Farmakologia
• Medikuntza

A peptide in human blood prevents the cells from becoming infected. Peptide is associated with a protein present on the surface of the virus, thus avoiding infection. The virus usually uses this protein to know the human cell, to make first contact and then infect the cell. It has been proven that the peptide prevents this first contact. Known as VIRIP (virus-inhibitory peptide), it is discovered by researchers from a German university.

Substances that inhibit HIV have left the blood of the human being before and, aware of this, analyzed 10,000 liters of blood in search of new substances. VIRIP can be a good candidate for the creation of new HIV drugs. On the one hand, because HIV does not easily develop its resistance to peptide, since VIRIP is associated with a stable protein of the virus (unlike other anti-HIV drugs). On the other hand, the simple change of three specific amino acids to peptide has allowed the compound to be a hundred times more effective, that is, the inhibition of HIV is more effective. This makes VIRIP a perfect candidate to produce drugs against the virus that causes leakage. But, first of all, you have to answer a series of questions that are in the air: Why if you are in human blood, there are no more autoimmune people with HIV? They hope to find answers by investigating with man.