Mark Iype – The structure of the entire genome of the virus that causes AIDS has been mapped for the first time, giving researchers a clearer view into how the virus attacks the human body and evades detection by the human immune system.

The groundbreaking work, conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina, may also accelerate the creation of a new class of antiviral drugs to combat not only the incurable and often fatal AIDS-causing human immunodeficiency virus, HIV, but also the viruses that cause influenza, hepatitis C, and the common cold.

“The science reveals big surprises about how HIV works,” said Kevin Weeks, the lead researcher on the study. “It has the potential to dramatically change our view of how HIV replicates and infects the human body.”

HIV is what is known as an RNA virus. Like influenza, polio and many other viruses, it uses RNA instead of DNA as its map when replicating and carrying out functions.

DNA is constructed on two strands, in the twisting double helix structure, using the famous A, C, T and G nucleotides as building blocks to carry its information. RNA is built on a single strand and depends on complex folding patterns, as well as the nucleotides, to carry its information.

“Its structure resembles a charm bracelet,” said Weeks. “It is a long single strand with all these RNA structures hanging off it.”

The research team developed a new method called SHAPE to make an image not only of the RNA’s nucleotide building blocks, but also of the complex folds of RNA strands. The chemical imaging technology is able to give a picture of the virus that until now had remained a mystery, said Weeks.

While the research team has not determined the function of all the RNA “charms,” Weeks said one function of the structures appears to be the regulation of how the virus mutates.

“The hallmark of HIV is its rapid mutation,” said Weeks. “Our study helps us to better understand how this happens, so we can learn how the virus attacks, replicates, evades and lies in wait.”

Current therapies only diminish and never eliminate the virus. If a patient stops taking the drugs, the dormant virus, which hides in a reservoir, is reborn. A cocktail of drugs helps to keep the virus at bay, allowing patients to live for 20 years or more after infection.

The complete map of the genetic structure of the virus will help scientists develop more effective drugs to treat HIV, said Weeks. By stopping the replication of the virus, it may be possible to even attack the virus before it gets a chance to sit idling in the reservoir.

Weeks hopes that an entirely new class of drugs may be developed to fight against the shape-shifting RNA viruses. “This research could have widespread effects in fighting viruses as common as influenza,” said Weeks. “If the rules prove to be broadly general, it will have a big impact on our understanding of viral biology.