Virus created to target HIV-infected cells

A US study has created a new type of virus that can track and mark HIV-infected cells, potentially opening new doors for treatments in future.

Dr Pin Wang, chemical engineering professor at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, has developed a lentiviral vector that latches on to infected cells and flags them with what is known as "suicide gene therapy".

It allows the cells to be selectively targeted in a way that does not affect healthy tissue, making it easier for subsequently administered drugs to identify and destroy them.

The vector has been shown to be successful when tested in culture dishes and is now set to be trialled among animal test subjects.

Dr Wang said: "If you deplete all of the HIV-infected cells, you can at least partially solve the problem … This is an early stage of research, but certainly it is one of the options in that direction."

Currently, there is no known cure for HIV, which was estimated to affect around 83,000 people as of the end of 2008, according to NHS data.