With the world and the healthcare industry looking forward to novel breakthroughs and revelations in the HIV ailment, India has recently scored an edge in developing an artificial enzyme that seeks to restrict the replication and reactivation of HIV cells in the host’s immune system.
Reports have it that a team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has developed enzymes to block HIV reactivation and replication in human body.
According to a recent study, the nanozymes have been developed from vanadium pentoxide nanosheets by mirroring a natural enzyme, glutathione peroxidase, in the host’s cells. This is mainly required to keep a check on the replication and reactivation measure of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
The study was apparently led by Amit Singh, an AP at the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology and CIDR, along with Govindasamy Mugesh, Professor at the Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry.
Prof. Amit Singh and Prof. Mugesh’s research and development of a biosensor to keep a count of oxidative stress levels in HIV-infected immune cells; stands to be a revolutionary achievement in the field.
The researchers have designed ultrathin sheets of vanadium pentoxide in the laboratory and treated the infected cells with them. As a result, the sheets were found to reduce hydrogen peroxide just as efficiently as any natural enzyme, thus preventing the virus from reactivating.
Professor Govindasamy Mugesh cited that the advantage of developing an artificial enzyme is that these nanozymes are unchanging inside the biological systems and under no condition mediate any unwanted reactions inside the cells. Moreover, these are also quite easy to be prepared in the laboratory.
Meanwhile, IISc, on the other hand, quoted that there currently is no way of eliminating HIV from patient’s body completely, even though anti-HIV drugs are being largely consumed and deemed successful in suppressing the virus; they fail miserably at eradicating the virus from infected cells.
Source Credit: https://www.ndtv.com/education/iisc-researchers-develop-enzymes-can-block-hiv-reactivation-replication