STUDY: UCLA researchers find potential new weapon to battle HIV and other deadly viruses

UCLA researchers say they may be a step closer to battling several deadly viral diseases, including HIV and Ebola. 

In a study published in the current issue of the journal Immunity, researchers identified a protein containing what they say are novel antiviral properties that appear to keep HIV from developing in certain laboratory mice.

The scientists say the  protein cholesterol-25-hydroxylase (CH25H) contains an enzyme that can permeate a cell’s wall and potentially block those deadly viruses from entering it.

For their study, researchers injected the enzyme into mice that were implanted with human tissue and with HIV. Within a week, it reduced the HIV viral load in the mice and reversed the depletion of infection-fighting T-cells caused by HIV, said lead author Su-Yang Liu, a student in the department of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

The scientists say they hope their findings will help in the development of medications that battle HIV and other serious viruses in humans. Read the full study below:

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