Scientists in residence at the Central Caribbean Research Centre have identified a molecule that they claim lowers the infection rate in HIV, the Central Caribbean Marine Institute reports.
Dr. Silvia Bulgheresi (Micro-Biologist) and Dr. Joerg Ott (Zoologist/Marine Biologist) both from the University of Vienna, Austria are studying microscopic animals, which live between grains of sand, that prevent infection.
During their research, the scientists have discovered a protein molecule they’ve named ‘Mermaid,’ in cell cultures which, study shows, lowers the infection rate against HIV.
According to the release, the protein is produced by a worm to attract specific bacteria it lives symbiotically with.
The worms eat the bacteria and in turn grow the molecule’s food.
The two researchers identified Mermaid while studying the mechanisms by which the worm and the molecule find each other.
Dr. Silvia recognised the biomedical importance of such a mechanism and that Mermaid is similar to a molecule on the surface of human immune system cells, where pathogenic bacteria and virus (including HIV) attach and infect the cells.
Knowing this it was recognised that adding Mermaid could ‘saturate’ the recognition sites on the pathogens making them unable to attach to the human immune cells.
Using this premise, it was discovered that Mermaid significantly lowered the infection rate against HIV.
Drs. Silvia and Joerg Belize have been in residence at the research centre during the months of September and October.
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