“ dust DNA ” are inactive parts of your genome , switched off long ago in evolutionary history . Now scientists say there ’s a junk gene that fights HIV . And they ’ve discovered how to turn it back on .
What these scientists have done could give us the first foolproof HIV vaccinum . They have re - awaken the human genome ’s latent potential to make us all into HIV - resistant creatures . This evening in PLoS Biology , they ’ve published their earth - intermit research .
A mathematical group of scientists guide by Nitya Venkataraman and Alexander Colewhether want to try a raw advance to fighting HIV – one that worked with the physical structure ’s own resistant system . They knew Old World monkey had a work up - in immunity to HIV : a protein called retrocyclin , which can prevent HIV from entering cellular phone paries and starting an infection . So they began poring over the human genome , looking to see if world had a latent cistron that could cook up retrocyclin too . It twist out that we did , but a “ falderol mutation ” in the gene had sprain it off at some degree in our evolutionary chronicle .
gimcrackery mutation are get when random DNA computer code shows up in the middle of a factor , preventing it from start the procedure of fabrication protein in the cellular phone . Venkataraman and her team decided to investigate this factor further , doing a series of tests to see if the retrocyclin it grow would keep HIV out of human cells . It did .
At last , they know that if they could just fancy out a way of life to reawaken the “ junk ” gene that create retrocyclin in humans , they might be able to stop HIV infections . The research worker just needed to visualise out a way to remove that meaninglessness chromosomal mutation and get the objective factor to start manufacturing retrocyclin again .
Here ’s where things really get interesting . The squad retrieve a way to utilise a compound called aminoglycosides , which itself can cause errors when RNA transcribes information from DNA to make protein . But this clock time , the aminoglycoside mistake would mould in their favour : It would cause that RNA to disregard the falderol mutation in the rubble cistron , and therefore bulge give retrocyclin again . In preliminary trial , their dodging worked . The human cellular telephone made retrocyclin , fended off HIV , and efficaciously became AIDS - resistant . And it was done entirely using the latent potential in the so - call dust DNA of the human genome .
After more inquiry is done , the researchers conceive this might become a viable way to make humans immune to HIV infection .
What connive me , beyond the amazing idea of an AIDS vaccine , is that aminoglycosides have the potential to unlock the use for other composition of debris DNA . Those of you who understand Greg Bear ’s fresh Darwin ’s wireless know that this scenario is familiar scifi district : In that book , man set out rapidly develop after their junk DNA re - awakens in response to stress . Could we induce instant mutations , or gain other new immunities by using aminoglycosides on our dust desoxyribonucleic acid ? What would it mean to have the whole unbalanced , elephantine human genome at our instruction ?
viaPLoS Biology
BiologyGeneticsGenomicsScience
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