A scientist in the UK is looking at using HIV to correct faulty genes in unborn babies with cystic fibrosis.
The scientist is Suzanne Buckley of University College London and she has successfully used HIV as a carrier of genetic material to correct faulty cystic fibrosis genes in the lungs of mice.
Suzanne Buckley will present her findings at the British Society for Gene Therapy conference in Warwick. The title of her findings will be labeled “Significant pulmonary transduction after in utero and neonatal administration of lentiviral vectors.”
According to Medical News Today, “In 1989, an international team of scientists identified the CF gene and established that it is located on chromosome number 7. Every human cell has 23 pairs of chromosomes, each in the pair that comes from each parent and carries about 30,000 genes.The CF gene instructs the production of a protein called CFTCR (Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator) that moves salt and water in and out of cells lining the lungs and digestive tract. However, in people with cystic fibrosis, the CF gene is defective and causes too much salt and too little water to be transported, leading to the sticky mucus that clogs the lungs.”
The HIV virus is used as a carrier or “vector” because it invades the cells of living organisms and makes the host’s DNA obey and help the virus replicate. It also inserts its own RNA and fuses it with the host’s genetic material. The key is to control and manipulate the virus to get the results the scientist wants.
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