About one in every 300 people infected with HIV is a "controller," someone who can control the condition without anti-retroviral drugs. First identified about twenty years ago, controllers work by suppressing viral replication in the immune system, maintaining the viral load at low levels. Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University conducted a genome-wide study with almost 1,000 controllers and 2,600 people with progressive HIV. This allowed scientists to find five specific amino acids that identify individuals with the HLA-B protein involved with destroying virus-infected cells. Part of the protein takes peptides from the virus and places them on the cell membrane, allowing for the immune system's killer T-cells to destroy them. Researchers hope to replicate the immune system's response against HIV to create an effective vaccine. Nevertheless, there is still much to learn about the protein's mechanism, as some immune system responses to HIV are more effective than others.
-complied by Anessa Caalim
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