Key HIV gene discovered

Sunday, January 9, 2005

Researchers from the Argentinian Garrahan Hospital, the CONICET (National Scientific and Technical Investigations Council) , the University of Texas, and the Wilford Hall Medical Center discovered that quantities of a specific immunological gene in humans (CCL3L1) may have an effect on the contraction and development of HIV and AIDS.

According to the investigation, individuals with fewer copies of the gene are more prone to contract the virus in case of direct contact. Each additional copy of the gene reduced the chance of infection by 5-10%, according to a press release from the study's leader, Dr. Sunil Ahuja of the University of Texas.

The study is based upon the analysis of blood samples from 4308 subjects, including 800 children at Garrahan Hospital, located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The gene may act upon "blocking substances" that are inside cells and have an important role in preventing infections, including the one brought on by HIV. Those cases which presented less quantities of this gene had a higher index of HIV+ infections, while the rest appeared to be more resistant.

The research was detailed in a paper published on January 6, 2005, through Science Magazine's online service, Science Express.

External links

Key HIV gene discovered (in Spanish).
The Influence of CCL3L1 Gene-Containing Segmental Duplications on HIV-1/AIDS Susceptibility Paper citation on PubMed, January 6, 2005.
Number of copies of immune-response gene linked to HIV/AIDS susceptibility Press release from laboratory of study's first author, January 7, 2005.

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Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.