Scientists Discover Protein Interaction That Reactivates Hiv Virus

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[Terri Finkel] claims that the protein responsible for this process is the Vif protein (short for viral infectivity factor). "The protein is produced by the HTV virus," she said. "At one point, Vif causes HIVinfected cells to stop growing and also drives cells out of one phase into a more active phase."

Finkel and other researchers said a biological interaction of some kind actually "wakes up" a latent infected cell and reactivates the infection. Additionally, the interaction between two additional proteins, Brd4 and Cdk9 and Vif was significant, and sheds light on how and why HIVinfected cells become dormant and then reactivate. According to the study, a similar process occurs in other latent infections, such as the herpes virus and the Epstein-Barr virus.

According to the study by researchers at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, a protein can cause the HIV virus to become active in an infected person's body, despite test results that indicate that the virus may have become inactive or dormant.

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Scientists Discover Protein Interaction That Reactivates Hiv Virus

Researchers in Philadelphia released a comprehensive report last week that reveals how a specific protein in the body can reactivate the HIV viru...

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