Protein-like molecule provides HIV protection

Researchers have developed a new protein-like molecule that could help to protect cells against HIV.

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that using molecular engineering to design a synthetic mimic can interrupt undesired biological conversations between cells.

In the future, this could stop infections and tumours such as HIV, influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome from growing, as these rely on interaction with host cell proteins.

Samuel Gellman, a chemistry professor from the university, wrote in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: "There's a lot of information transfer that occurs when proteins come together, and one would often like to block that information flow.

"We want to find an alternate language, an alternate way to express the information that the proteins express so that we can interfere with a conversation that one protein is having with another."

HIV infection was successfully blocked with the protein-like cells during laboratory experiments.

A gel to block HIV developing in women has been created by experts at the University of Utah.

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