Fluro cats key to HIV cure?

Fluro cats key to HIV cure?

US researchers are hopeful our feline friends may help unlock the mystery of curing HIV.

Minnesota scientists have bred cats which glow fluorescent green and have cells which block infection from the virus that causes feline AIDS.

The cats have been made to turn fluorescent green – using an inserted jellyfish gene – so researchers can check which cells contained the virus-blocking gene.

The findings were published in journal Nature Methods and may help prevent feline AIDS in cats and shed some light on how humans could similarly block HIV infection in the body.

Tests on cells taken from the cats showed they were resistant to the feline immunodeficiency virus.

“This provides the unprecedented capability to study the effects of giving AIDS-protection genes into an AIDS-vulnerable animal,” lead researcher Dr Eric Poeschla said.

Feline AIDS works similarly in cats as HIV does in humans – by destroying infection fighting T-cells.

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