BEHIND HIV CARRIERS



More than half a million people in the U.S have died for HIV infection and more than a million currently live with the virus but a relative handful of people infected with HIV never get treatment for it and never get sick from it. The immune system of this small population some how control the virus for along time
HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?????
The virus carried by HIV carriers is less fit.It reproduce less rapidly than virus in other people affected by the HIV virus, it is not that this people are fortunate to be infected with such a virus but research has shown that their immune system drives the virus to a less fit variant.
Host genes of the major histocompatibility complex (the genes that determine how mammals respond to pathogens) play a significant role in how the immune system respond to all pathogens. Several variant eg the HLA B* 5701 allele have been associated with the pace of HIV disease progression in both carriers and "normals"
Only viruses that have mutated escape mechanisms from immune pressure are able to survive but mutations come with a cost of other aspects of viral fitness perhaps inhibiting entry into cells or integration into cell DNA. Research has proven that 90% of HIV carriers carry this protective allele
What has become clear from this research is that they are multiple route to controlling HIV, each with their own combination of genetic and environmental factors.Researchers hope that as the number of carriers enrol in this studies so will the power to detect specific genes and combinations that affect the immune system's ability to control HIV
CD8T cells are the most important immune factor in reining in HIV. Research have shown that HIV carriers have quantitatively and qualitatively different CD8T cells compared to those follow the typical course of disease progression. The CD8T cells also produces greater quantities of perforin and granzymes which stimulate apoptosis or cell death
NICHOLAS GICHUHI KIMANI

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