The first picture of the Aids virus attacking the inside of a living cell
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.SCIENTISTS HAVE captured the first picture of the Aids virus as it attacks a living cell, showing it shinning down the "tent poles" holding the cell together.
A video recording reveals how the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) breaks through the outer cell membrane and uses the internal scaffolding of the cell to find its way to the central nucleus.
The virus is illuminated with a fluorescent dye derived from a jelly fish. It makes the HIV appear as bright green dots against the red background of the cell's cytoplasm - the gel-like filling of the cell outside the nucleus.
Tom Hope, leader of the team who took the photographs at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, will present the findings today at a meeting in Washington DC of the American Society for Cell Biology.
He said: "After it penetrates the cell's surface, HIV must reach the nucleus before it can really set up headquarters and produce more virus. But virtually nothing was known about how it got there."
The researchers used a custom-designed microscope that enabled them to scrutinise living cells in three dimensions. They observed the virus skimming along microtubules, the molecular tent poles, which form the backbone of the cell's internal skeleton.
"We see the green lights gliding along in a straight line and moving towards the nucleus fairly rapidly. This led us to believe the virus might be attaching to something solid, rather than diffusing through the cytoplasm or being transported in [fluid-filled sacs]," Professor Hope said.
The next stage is to see if this can be blocked. "If we could obstruct this step, we'd have a good candidate for a drug to block HIV infection," he said.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments