IISc Bangalore team develops artificial enzymes that can stop HIV growth in human body

In an unprecedented scientific discovery, a researchers team at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore has been successful in developing a set of artificial enzymes that can help stem reactivation and multiplication of the HIV cells in the host immune’s cell. According to the IISc researchers the “nano enzymes” which have been constituted of the vanadium pentoxide nanosheets mimic a natural enzyme called glutathione peroxidase. The nanoenzymes, just like the natural enzyme, will actually help reduce the oxidative stress levels in the cells and keep the virus in check, the Indian Express reported.

Govindasamy Mugesh, who is a Professor at the Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry told the Indian Express that the nano enzyme also has additional advantages as they are absolutely stable inside the biological system and do not cause any unwanted reactions inside the cells.

The researchers team mentioned that elimination of the HIV virus from the patients’ body is impossible at this stage, several HIV drugs around the world aim at suppressing the virus and prevent its spread further in the body. IISc in a statement said that the virus remains in a latent state in the host cells and higher levels of toxic molecules like hydrogen peroxide lead to increased oxidative stress in the host cells and helps in the reactivation of the virus.

Although the researchers found the nanoenzymes harmless to normal cells during their lab tests, it remains to be seen how they would react once they have entered inside the body. Professor Mugesh said that further studies will be conducted to understand how the enzymes actually react as they enter into different organs of the body and to also understand how long the enzymes will remain inside the human body.