Bee Venom Can Kill HIV(HIV நோய்க்கு மருந்தாகும் தேனீக்களின் நஞ்சு)

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis may be one step closer to developing a vaginal gel that could prevent the spread of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). A new study found that nanoparticles carrying the toxin in bee venom can destroy the HIV virus while leaving surrounding cells unharmed. This study was led by Dr. Samuel Wickline, the university's J. Russell Hornsby Professor of Biomedical Sciences, and is featured in the current issue of the journal Antiviral Therapy. “Our hope is that in places where HIV is running rampant, people could use this gel as a preventive measure to stop the initial infection,” Dr. Joshua Hood, researcher, said in a statement. Within the bee venom is a toxin called melittin that can “poke holes in the protective envelope that surrounds HIV, and other viruses,” according to the researchers. This new development actually attacks the virus, while traditional HIV therapy aims to prevent the virus from replicating by using drug therapy. But sometimes the virus adapts and replicates despite drug therapy. “We are attacking an inherent physical property of HIV,” Hood said in a statement. “Theoretically, there isn’t any way for the virus to adapt to that. The virus has to have a protective coat, a double-layered membrane that covers the virus.” This work was supported by a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Explorations grant. These grants are designed to reward innovative ideas to overcome global health challenges. Typically, intial grants of $100,000 are awarded two times each year, and projects that have proven successful are eligible to receive another grant of up to $1 million, according to the Grand Challenges website.Nanoparticles smaller than HIV were infused with the bee venom toxin, explains U.S. News & World Report. A "protective bumper" was added to the nanoparticle's surface, allowing it to bounce off normal cells and leave them intact. Normal cells are larger than HIV, so the nanoparticles target HIV, which is so small it fits between the bumpers. “Melittin on the nanoparticles fuses with the viral envelope,” said research instructor Joshua L. Hood, MD, PhD, via the news release. “The melittin forms little pore-like attack complexes and ruptures the envelope, stripping it off the virus.” Adding, “We are attacking an inherent physical property of HIV. Theoretically, there isn’t any way for the virus to adapt to that. The virus has to have a protective coat, a double-layered membrane that covers the virus.” This revelation can lead to the development of a womanly gel to prevent the spread of HIV and, it seems, an intravenous treatment to help those already infected. “Our hope is that in places where HIV is running rampant, people could use this gel as a preventive measure to stop the initial infection,” said Hood. The bee venom HIV study was published on Thursday in the journal Antiviral Therapy, according to U.S. News & World Report. This study comes on the heels of news that a Mississippi baby with HIV has apparently been cured. The mother was diagnosed with HIV during labor and the baby received a three-drug treatment just 30 hours after birth, before tests confirmed the infant was infected. The child, now 2 years old, has been off medication for about a year and shows no sign of infection. உலகெங்கிலும் பல்வேறு நாடுகளில் பாரம்பரிய மருந்துப்பொருளாகப் பயன்படுத்தப்பட்டுவரும் தேனீக்களின் நஞ்சானது HIV/AIDS உயிர்க்கொல்லி நோயினையும் குணப்படுத்தவல்லது என ஆய்வில் தெரியவந்துள்ளது.அமெரிக்காவின் சென்.லூசியசில் அமைந்துள்ள வாசிங்டன் பல்கலைக்கழகத்தின் மருத்துவப் பிரிவு ஆராய்ச்சியாளர்களினாலேயே இந்த ஆய்வு மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்டுள்ளது. அதாவது HIV நோயினை பரப்பக்கூடிய அல்லது ஏற்படுத்தக்கூடிய வைரஸினை முற்றாக அழிக்கும் ஆற்றல் தேனீக்களின் நஞ்சில் காணப்படுகின்றமை குறித்த ஆய்வின் மூலம் வெளிச்சத்திற்கு வந்துள்ளது.