To improve the treatment of a disease, scientists must know its root. An international team of researchers led by Dr. Cyril Favard and Dr. Delphine Muriaux from the Montpellier Infectious Disease Research Institution in collaboration with Prof. Christian Eggeling from the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT), the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, and the University of Oxford has now succeeded in using high-resolution imaging to visualize to the millisecond how the HI virus multiply in living host T cells, and which molecules it requires for this purpose. The team has also identified the molecules the virus needs to replicate itself. Using the STED super resolution fluorescence microscopy, the research team was able to provide proof of the lipid environment where the AIDS pathogen replicates itself.
"The study provides a method of investigation to prevent the multiplication of such HI virus in the body," Eggeling said. The results of their study were published in the Science Advances journal on October 2, 2019.
In the study, the researchers discussed how they focused on the slice through which the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) emerges after the cell has been infected. They looked into the plasma membrane of the cell from which it emerged. The protein Gag was used as a marker to coordinate the process involved in the maturation process of the virus.
"We have identified that the decisive process of replication of infected cells happen where the protein Gag accumulates," Christian Eggeling explains. Looking further into this site, the researchers were able to identify that the HI virus interacts with certain lipids. Although it has been identified before, the study provides proof that the interaction happens both in infected and living cells in the body.
"This new discovery allows us to put together an antiviral drug," Eggeling noted. Another crucial discovery is the identification of molecules that the HI virus needs to leave one cell to infect another. With technology, this process can be followed, allowing scientists to prevent the spread of the virus from happening.
The team is now looking at developing antibodies that attack these identified molecules to suppress the virus. "The team wants the antibodies to work its magic medically, but they also want to find out the biophysical interaction that happens to further enhance their efficiency," Eggeling added.
With the use of fluorescence microscopy as a tool, the team was able to follow the labeled molecules and tracked them in real time. It led the team to understanding how diseases develop in the molecular level. Eggeling is closely working with physicians and biologists to discuss how these methods can further be used for easy disease detection. More importantly, he aims to make the process more accurate to hopefully prevent the diseases from spreading.