In a shocking new discovery by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, it appears that the answer to HIV may reside in a creature we often consider to be a pest: the bee.
Appearing in the current issue of Antiviral Therapy, the study shows that certain nanoparticles carrying a toxin found in the venom of bees can destroy human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while leaving nearby cells unharmed. Researchers believe this discovery will lead a whole host of possibilities for future protection against the virus.
"Our hope is that in places where HIV is running rampant, people could use this gel as a preventive measure to stop the initial infection," notes Joshua L. Hood, MD, PhD, a research instructor in medicine.
In the picture above you can see the process that the researchers used to isolate and destroy an HIV sample.
The purple are the nanoparticles on which researchers placed a bit of melittin, a potent toxin found in bee venom. The melittin can easily fuse with the HIV viruses and in doing so, ruptures their protective envelopes. The red ovals surrounding the nanoparticles help them bounce off the much larger surrounding cells in the body.
Not only is this an ingenious solution that stands to do wonders for the estimated 34 million people currently afflicted by the disease, but it also appears to be a permanent one. Dr. Hood continues:
"We are attacking an inherent physical property of HIV. Theoretically, there isn't any way for the virus to adapt to that. The virus has to have a protective coat, a double-layered membrane that covers the virus."
As if this discovery isn't good enough already, it also appears that HIV isn't the only virus that this method can work against. There are many viruses, including hepatitis B and C, that have very similar structures that can be exploited with this this method. Further still, the researchers have said that it is likely that these melittin-infused nanoparticles could be used on sperm as well. With expectations so high, it will be interesting to see if this bee venom solution can live up to the buzz.
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