Researchers Use Genetically Modified Yogurt Bacteria to Fight HIV and AIDS
Everyone I know has made some kind of resolutions this new year. Some, including myself, have resolved to lose weight and eat healthier. As part of my new lifestyle, I’ve started to consume more dairy products, especially one of my favorite foods from childhood, yogurt. Now, I’ve read that this favorite food of mine is being used to fight a deadly epidemic – the spread of the HIV virus and AIDS (Researchers use Yogurt to fight AIDS, Medical Research News, 1/25/06).
It seems that researchers at Brown University have genetically modified some of the “friendly bacteria” found in yogurt to release a drug that blocks the transmission of the HIV virus. According to the article, the bacteria the researchers have modified is known as lactococcus lactis, which naturally produces lactic acid and is found in some parts of the human anatomy. By using electric current to make tiny holes in the membranes of the lactic acid bacteria, the researchers were able to genetically modify the bacteria’s makeup so that it generates cyanovirin, which binds to sugar molecules attached to the HIV virus and blocks a receptor that HIV uses to infect cells. The research team’s findings were published in the December 15, 2005 edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
The genetically modified bacteria have been effective in preventing HIV in animal tests and tests on human cells. The research is on track for human trials to take place sometime in 2007.
The research team hopes to use these bioengineered bacteria as the active ingredient in a microbicide that can be used before sexual intercourse to prevent HIV transmission. The use of this genetically modified bacterium offers more advantages over injected vaccines, which often have trouble reaching peripheral areas of the body, according to the article. There is also an economic benefit in using these bacteria, especially if they can be taken orally, as in probiotic yogurts. The drug could be produced wherever there are facilities to make a dairy product.
“It makes lifelong treatment more feasible,” said Lothar Steidler, a molecular biologist at Cork University in Ireland.
One of the biggest problems this bacterium could address is the protection of individuals in developing countries, where HIV and AIDS are rampant. According to the World Health Organization, HIV and AIDS has killed more than 25 million people, which makes the epidemic one of the most destructive in recorded history.
Despite these benefits, public fear of genetic modification could stop this innovative research from going forward. It’s a shame that this fear would stand in the way of potentially treating this devastating disease. Without the work done by the research team at Brown University, scientists and researchers would be no closer to stopping the spread of the HIV virus and AIDS than they were some 20 plus years ago. I firmly believe that research like this needs to continue and be supported. If these scientists and researchers can have success with this treatment and with similar projects using genetic engineering in order to benefit individuals around the world, there most certainly have to be a rise in acceptance of the technology.
Comments
Pretty good site
Posted by: WaltRoha | August 25, 2006 12:50 AM