HIV Cure In Sight As Scientists Find A ‘Kill Switch’ That Stops Spread Of AIDS-causing Virus

The decades-long search for HIV cure may soon come to an end as scientists have discovered a ‘kill switch’ that stops the reproduction of infected cells.

The team of scientists lead by Dr Tariq Rana of the University of California San Diego found that ‘molecular switch’ can be controlled to clear dormant HIV virus from human cells.

Daily Mail reports that the discovery is a step closer to finding a cure for HIV as scientists had been searching for the ‘switch’ for decades.

According to the newspaper, the scientists carried out a series of laboratory tests on cells and found that controlling a particular molecule can clear dormant HIV virus from the cells.

The scientists believe that AIDS can be “eradicated” following the discovery.

“This is one of the key switches that the HIV field has been searching for three decades to find,” Daily Mail the author of the study, Dr Tariq Rana, as saying.

“The most exciting part of this discovery has not been seen before. [It suggests] we have a potential therapeutic target to eradicate HIV and AIDS.’

Rana added, “By genetically modifying a long noncoding RNA, we prevent HIV recurrence in T cells – a type of white blood cell – and immune cells microglia when antiretroviral treatment is removed.

“Our results suggest that HEAL plays a critical role in HIV pathogenesis.

“Further studies are needed to explain the mechanism that leads to HEAL expression after an individual is infected by HIV, but this finding could be exploited as a therapeutic target.”

The newspaper said the despite the scientists’ excitement, they noted that it is an early test that has not been carried out on animals on humans.