Has a functional cure been discovered in Queensland?

A functional cure for HIV may have been discovered in Queensland. That’s the hope of Brisbane researchers who have created an antiviral protein that appears to ‘switch off’ the virus. The inhibitor — known as ‘Nullbasic’ — was made by mutating an existing HIV protein.

The exciting breakthrough offers a new approach to antiretroviral therapy. Speaking to Fairfax Media, Associate Professor David Harrich of the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute said the discovery has the potential “to treat cells in a way that turns the virus off but otherwise leaves the cell alone”.  The next step, said Harrich, is to test the antiviral protein in mice. “It’s going to be a very useful research tool.”

However, it could be a decade or so before the protein can be harnessed as a one-off antidote for HIV. “It’s early days,” said Harrich.  “You want to be cautious about these kinds of things because the application of proteins as a therapy is extremely difficult, so it’s not something that’s going to pop out of a lab and become an instant remedy for HIV.” The advancement, reported in the American Society for Microbiology journal, mBio, is the result of seven years of laboratory tests.

Read the in-depth science here.

antiviral cure protein