The rise of nanometers

Regarding the clinical treatment of diseases with gold nanoparticles, in addition to this scientific research group, there are two other scientific research groups.

After Huang Xiuyuan encouraged the researchers, Zhao Xiaojun and Mo Siqian took him to the work area of ​​another scientific research team next door.

The topic studied by this scientific research team is the special inhibitory effect of gold nanocrystal particles.

After receiving an experimental report, he read it at a glance for a while. Mo Siqian on the side explained some of the key points from time to time.

"The results of this group's research are about the combination of gold nano-45 crystals and antagonists. So far, they have completed two small directions..."

Huang Xiuyuan looked at it again. The special inhibitory effect of gold nanocrystals comes from its own multivalent effect.

Multivalent effects can achieve extremely high selectivity and sensitivity within the organism, reducing interference and weakening in the complex biochemical environment in the body.

At present, this scientific research team has successfully improved the TAK-779 antagonist, increasing its inhibitory effect on HIV by about 18 to 28 times, and at the same time, most of the side effects have been eliminated.

TAK-779 is an old product from the 1990s. The current patent period has expired and this drug has long been eliminated.

The reason why it was eliminated was mainly because the first generation TAK-779 contained an ammonium salt, which is an extremely toxic compound. The effective molecules in TAK-779 must be combined with the ammonium salt to ensure its effectiveness. Inhibitory effect.

The extremely toxic ammonium salts are very harmful to the human body, just like current chemotherapy, which makes patients worse than dead.

What this scientific research team did was to use gold nanocrystals to replace ammonium salts and combine them with the effective molecules in TAK-779 to improve the inhibitory effect and eliminate the toxicity of ammonium salts.

"Yes, although there are limitations, the progress is huge." Huang Xiuyuan handed the tablet to the researcher on the side.

Mo Siqian, who is in charge of the research project, is aware of the shortcomings of gold nanoparticle-TAK-779: "Currently it can only be effective for some AIDS patients, and further research is needed."

The shortcomings of gold nanoparticles-TAK-779 are mainly due to the research and development ideas of the drug itself. This drug can only fight HIV containing CCR5 receptors, but the effect is not obvious against HIV containing CXCR4 and CCR5-CXCR4 receptors.

However, in addition to being used to treat AIDS, this drug can also be used to inhibit the metastasis of tumor cells, because tumor cells also have CCR5 receptors.

"By the way, Lao Mo, how is the situation with the AIDS vaccine?"

Mo Siqian replied helplessly: "One word, difficult. HIV mutates too fast. Inside the human body, it can mutate beyond recognition in just a few months. Many vaccines can only protect for a few months. This is very difficult for R\u0026D companies." It’s definitely a loss-making business.”

The difficulty of developing viral vaccines, especially RNA viruses with high mutation rates, is currently an unsolvable situation.

The speed of human development of vaccines cannot keep up with the speed of virus mutation. Often a vaccine takes several years to develop and is killed by the virus in just a few months of use.

Faced with this desperate situation, which medical company dares to invest heavily? Knowing that it will lose everything, it will definitely not bet on a virus vaccine. At most, it will invest a little money and do some tentative research.

Even the Shennong Group has not put much energy into the AIDS vaccine because the success rate of the vaccine is too low and there is no reasonable way to combat viruses with high mutation rates.

It is not as good as the cocktail therapy currently used, that is, a combination of multiple inhibitors, which makes HIV more difficult to fight against and makes it less likely to develop drug resistance in a short period of time.

But cocktail therapy also has some problems, that is, the side effects of the drug are unavoidable, and long-term use will cause great damage to the body.

Huang Xiuyuan thought for a moment and remembered that in his future memory, before the nano-in-body robot, the cell trap method had been popular for a while.

"Old Mo, I have an idea."

Hearing these words, Mo Siqian picked up the tablet beside him and activated the recording function: "Chairman, please speak, I am all ears."

"Currently, treatment of viral diseases relies either on vaccines, human immunity, or chemotherapy. When treating highly mutable RNA viruses, they are often very passive."

Huang Xiuyuan continued: "We need to change our thinking. It is difficult for viruses to survive and replicate independently for a long time in the natural environment. They must rely on the DNA chain of cells to achieve reverse transcription and replication to achieve the purpose of reproduction."

"What does the chairman mean?" Mo Siqian asked curiously.

"My idea is to create a trap, induce the virus into this trap, and then focus on killing it."

trap?

Induction?

All the researchers began to think thoughtfully.

Huang Xiuyuan opened a work computer and described some key points of the cell trap method through pictures and texts.

First, the patient's stem cells are extracted and cultured in vitro. The cultured stem cells are induced to mutate through radiation irradiation and transformed into cancer cells. Finally, these cancer cells are injected with gold nanorod particles, and then these cancer cells are injected back into the patient's body.

The patient has taken a combination of cocktail therapy drugs, so that HIV is temporarily suppressed in the corner.

After cancer cells enter the body, because the drug cocktail therapy cannot protect the cancer cells, HIV will enter the inside of the cancer cells and prepare to use the DNA chains of the cancer cells to perform reverse transcription and replication.

Just calculate the timing and start the near-infrared light irradiation to burn these cancer cells and kill the HIV that has entered the cancer cells.

However, this time must be calculated well, because the division and proliferation time of cancer cells usually divides once every four weeks or so.

HIV usually replicates once every 52 hours. In addition, HIV also likes to hide inside T cells and evade drugs.

According to this characteristic, when Huang Xiuyuan's stem cells are cultured in vitro, they need to be directed to generate T cells, and then turn the T cells into cancer cells to allow HIV to enter these cancer cells.

This cell trap method must be combined with another drug, a drug that can release inducing interferon to induce HIV from normal T cells and attract it to cancer cells.

In fact, the future cell trap method does not require gold nanorods, because the future trap cancer cells will be special cells that have been genetically edited. Usually in about two days, a self-decomposing substance will be produced to remove the HIV inside. Kill with yourself.

But now, gene editing technology is not mature, and using gold nanorods as positioning targets will have the same effect.

Mo Siqian quickly figured out the key: "Chairman, if the cell trap method is to be successful, the induced interferon must 100% elicit the hidden virus in T cells, otherwise the virus will easily reappear."

This issue is the key to HIV treatment and is also a problem faced by many current anti-AIDS drugs.

Huang Xiuyuan expressed his thoughts: "My idea is to interfere with the inside of normal T cells, creating an illusion that T cells are about to die, so that these hidden HIV viruses are forced to activate and perform reverse transcription and replication."

Everyone discussed for an hour. The success of this plan depends on whether the interferon in suspended cell death can successfully force HIV to exit its latent state.

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