| HIV can only bond with a special receptor on white | | | | can get back to normal. Since CD4 receptors serve |
| blood cells called the CD4 receptor. These receptors | | | | no purpose in the body and some people don't even |
| are special proteins that exist on the outside of white | | | | have them, we can create complimentary molecules |
| blood cells. | | | | to bond with and essentially cap the CD4 receptors. |
| In the lab we can make CD4 receptors with ease and | | | | The last time I checked there were close to 200 |
| then inject them into the patient's blood stream without | | | | commercially available injectable medicines that served |
| causing any harm. These free floating receptors then | | | | this purpose. The down side is that new white blood |
| attach to HIV floating in the blood and cause it to | | | | cells would not be protected, so regular injections |
| become harmless. We can even attach the CD4 | | | | would be necessary and the CD4 receptor problem |
| receptors in large numbers to a bigger molecule, so | | | | would not be permanently solved. However, we can |
| they can be filtered out of the blood by the kidneys. | | | | work backwards chemically to identify the segment of |
| This dramatically reduces the amount of HIV in the | | | | DNA that results in a person having CD4 receptors |
| blood by tricking it into bonding with a significantly larger | | | | and replace that segment of DNA using genetic |
| number of either free floating or CD4 receptors | | | | medicines to permanently eliminate the problem. Or we |
| bonded with larger harmless molecules. Regular | | | | can trick the ribosomes into creating proteins that will |
| treatments could completely eliminate the risk of HIV | | | | cap the CD4 receptors throughout an individual's |
| causing any significant damage to the immune system | | | | lifetime by adding a segment with instructions to make |
| and developing into AIDS. | | | | the new protein. |
| The second line of defense is to protect all the healthy | | | | So here is a cure to eliminate HIV and provide |
| white bloods cells in the patient, so the immune system | | | | significant immunity to acquiring AIDS. |