Human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are insidious. They can evade the immune defense and antiviral drugs by becoming “latent.” In this state, they are largely invisible and unassailable. As long as these dormant viruses persist, there is no cure for HIV/AIDS. However, researchers at Ulm University Hospital have discovered a new way to reactivate latent HI viruses. This is made possible by the body’s own protein RBP4, a transporter for vitamin A—and provides a new starting point for HIV cure approaches.
Vitamin A transporter reactivates latent HIV, providing another step towards a cure
