Special gel may prevent future HIV infections
While scientists cannot create the HIV vaccine, researchers around the world are trying to find solutions that help lower the rate of new infections. In addition to barrier methods such as condoms, alternatives are also being developed such as microbicidal gels capable of eliminating viruses that come into contact with the mixture.
Recently, a new article published in PLOS Pathogens brings more hope in this area, thanks to a vaginal gel developed by a consortium of European researchers that has been shown to be very effective in preventing infections in non-human primates.
What differentiates this gel from others already created is a peptide known as "miniCD4s", which was developed by the same team of scientists. This component mimics the characteristics of the human body's CD4 receptor, which is used by HIV to gain access to one's immune system. Thus, when the virus comes into contact with the gel peptide, it ends up being annihilated.
The new gel was tested in beaker models with single cells and tissue models very similar to human mucosae, the main gateway to HIV. After that, the scientists prepared six monkeys as guinea pigs for the experiment by inserting the gel into their vaginas and then a fairly high virus load. The result? Five of these monkeys completed the experiment without contracting any infections.
The test serves as proof of concept and brings a little more hope for similar products to be developed for humans, and is a promising avenue for prevention.
