In article <2qn1j7$67j at eagle.natinst.com>, klopfer at natinst.com (Mike Klopfer) writes:
>> I read somewhere about transplanting a functioning human immune system
> into SCID mice. I was wondering if there are other examples of transplanting
> immune systems between species. I was wondering if this could be a potential
> treatment for hiv e.g. using the immune sytem of a species that isn't
> susceptible to the virus to replace the immune system of the hiv infected
> person.
>> Along this line I've heard of a treatment (maybe it was called Total
> Lymphoid Irradiation) using radiation to destroy a persons immune
> system. Then the immune system can be restarted from saved stem cells
> possibly eliminating rejection of transplanted organs. I was wondering
> if something like this is being tried or used? If this is not successfull I
> would also be interested in finding out what is the best guess as to why not.
>> Thanks for your time.
>> mike
>
Look up an article entitled "Stem Cells," which appeared 2-3 years ago in
Scientific American. A really interesting article, mentions the possibility
of what you propose at the end. That is, if we could learn how to identify
and isolate the stem cells from a patient, a large quantity of these cells
could be extracted. Next, you destroy the patients bone marrow. Meanwhile,
you use genetic therapy to fix, correct, or improve the DNA of the stem
cells so that they are, for example, resistant to HIV (i.e., alter the
protein that HIV attaches to) or can now recognize tumor antigens as
non-self (i.e., engineer an immune system that recognizes the patient's
cancer cells). Transplant the stem cells back into the patient, and voila!
The patient how has an immune system that cleans up on whatever ails them.
Regards,
Andy
--
Disclaimer:
All views expressed are my own opinions, and not necessarily
those of Intel Corporation.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Andy Gough | Internet: agough at sedona.intel.com
Intel Corporation CH3-69 | agough at az.intel.com
5000 W. Chandler Blvd. | "Knowledge is power."
Chandler, AZ 85226 | -- Francis Bacon
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