El virus del Sida ¿un aliado en la lucha contra el cáncer?

Leemos en WorldChanging que se está estudiando la posible utilización del virus del SIDA en la lucha contra el cáncer. Básicamente serí­a utilizar dos cualidades del HIV. Su capacidad para reproducirse y propagarse dentro del cuerpo humano y la de reescribir el ADN de las celulas que infecta. Los cientí­ficos están investigando como neutralizar los efectos perversos del virus. La utilización de este HIV bondadoso para atacar de forma especí­fica a las células cancerí­genas e introducir genes terapéuticos en las células dañadas.

“For the past 20 years, gene therapy has been hampered by the lack of a good carrier for therapeutic genes that can travel through the blood and aim itself at a precise location, thereby minimizing harmful side effects,” said Irvin S.Y. Chen, director of the UCLA AIDS Institute. “Our approach proves that it is possible to develop an effective carrier and reprogram it to target specific cells in the body.”

“The UCLA team employed a two-step approach to transform HIV into a cancer-seeking machine. First, the scientists used a version of HIV from which the viral pieces that cause AIDS had been removed. This allowed the virus to infect cells and spread throughout the body without provoking disease.

“The disarmed AIDS virus acts like a Trojan horse ” transporting therapeutic agents to a targeted part of the body, such as the lungs, where tumors often spread,” said Chen, a professor of medicine, microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics and a member of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.” ( UCLA Scientists Transform HIV Into Cancer-Seeking Missile )