HIV's 'invisibility cloak' is exposed, raising hopes for effective treatment
Knowing how HIV 'hides' from the immune system may lead to treatments
Scientists have found an "invisibility cloak" that allows the Aids virus to lurk unnoticed in human cells after infection and replicate without triggering the immune system.
And they've managed to "uncloak" the virus with an experimental drug in lab-grown cells - a feat that may lead to new and better HIV treatments, the team wrote in the journal Nature.
"The hope is that one day we may be able to develop a treatment that helps the body to clear the virus before the infection is able to take hold," the study's lead author Greg Towers of the University College London said.
The body's immune system is the first line of defence against infection, with an "alarm system" in each cell for detecting invading bacteria or viruses.
When the alarm is triggered, the cell activates an anti-viral response and alerts surrounding cells, which do the same.
But the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infects vital white blood cells of the immune system and replicates undetected for a while before triggering the alarm system - a trait that scientists have battled to understand.
"HIV is extremely adept at hiding from our body's natural defences, which is part of the reason the virus is so dangerous," said Towers.