HIV transfer captured on film

For the first time, the transfer of HIV from infected to uninfected T cells has been captured on video by a new study.

Researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the UC Davis Centre for Biophotonics Science and Technology managed the breakthrough.

This increased understanding of how the virus works could lead to new treatments being developed to block it from spreading.

Dr Benjamin Chen, assistant professor of medicine for infectious diseases at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, said: "Most prior studies of HIV dissemination have focused on free roaming viruses, but this study shows us how direct T cell-to-T cell contact could in fact be the predominant mode of dissemination within the body.

"The viral structural protein moves with surprising speed in infected cells and that the cell machinery actively participates in the transport of virus between T cells. This suggests there are many targets for interfering with the process."

High-speed 3D video microscopy technology is used to capture the virus on film.

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