Re: viruses

Recombinant CD4 receptor was proposed as a treatment for HIV. It turns out that genetically engineered E. coli makes CD4 quite easily. The idea was as Animesh suggests, flooding the body with the receptor to the virus would attach to it instead of the CD4 receptor on helper T cells. Nice idea, didn't work. I don't remember that there were any adverse side effects, but it just didn't work. One issue was most likely as Bob suggests, that the recombinant receptor didn't stick around long enough to be of any use unless one was injected with it immediately before or after exposure.


Bob wrote:
On 22 Apr 2006 19:54:45 -0700, animesh.deval@xxxxxxxxx wrote:


So virus degenerates in a ghost cell usually. The virus is also host
specific in nature.
If a x virus attacks only y site of the host then is it possible to
isolate the outer coverings of those y sites and if yes then we can
create many cells ( only cell coverings) artificially which lack
nucleic acid and inoculate inside the body so that virus will attack
those false cells and will degenerate. By doing this can we at least
decrease the intensity of infection?



That is logical -- but probably not useful.

One can do it in the lab. I know it has been done with some bacterial
viruses, some of which will actually inject their DNA when confronted
with a host "receptor" (which can be cell wall debris). I would bet it
has been done with some animal viruses, but don't have anything
specific at hand. I do not know whether such binding to a receptor
does anything to the virus; hard to predict.

It probably is not "useful" or practical as a means of fighting viral
infection is animals. Why? The idea, basically as you describe it,
would be to give viral receptors, and hope they "mop up" the virus.
The viral receptor is a normal part of the cell, and often has some
normal function. Giving it is a risk; it may have other effects.
Further, it must get to proper sites in the body, without being
degraded. This is difficult to achieve in practice. Protein drugs are
difficult to deal with. Not impossible, but certainly not easy.

I have some vague recollection that people may have tried this for
HIV. You might do a search for something like
HIV soluble receptors

One cannot make much extrapolation from one virus to another on this.
It would pretty much have to be worked out for any virus of interest.


bob

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