Unlike most viruses, HIV can penetrate stem cells, and it sticks permanently. So
Aubourg's team removed the genetic parts of HIV that make it dangerous, leaving
basically a scaffolding to carry the new therapeutic gene.
Then they culled stem
cells from two 7-year-old boys in the early stages of ALD, and mixed in
the healthy gene. The boys underwent bone marrow-destroying chemotherapy and then had
their genetically corrected stem cells reinserted.
This article is about two boys with a really rare brain desease. This desease could have killed them, but due to a correction of the DNA through an unabled HIV, so it couldn't cause AIDS anymore, they were able to fix the gene with the desease.
Gene therapy works when scientists harness deliver a healthy new gene by attaching to a virus that can harmlessly infect cells, so they had to take the HIV which is able to penetrate to stem cells permanently.
In my opinion that is a great method to heal deseases, but I also think it has to be more developed in the future, so it is able to use it on a larger group of people.
Another good post, Daniel. I find it absolutely fascinating that they can use something as scary as HIV to save lives.
ReplyDeleteGreat work. 25/25
If they can cure something like brain disease with an HIV, kinda crazy that there still isn't a cure for the HIV virus.
ReplyDeleteKatie- Being able to use something for your benefit doesn't imply mastery over it. That'd be like saying "it's crazy that we can use the power from wind to generate electricity but we haven't yet found a way to keep it from blowing."
ReplyDelete