Under the leadership of Chen Changan, the research on Down syndrome was proceeding steadily. Everything in the early work was quite smooth. After all, my predecessors had already walked the path. The xist gene transfer test that simulates in vitro cells was still very successful.

Just when Chen Changan was busy studying Down syndrome, the research on blocking AIDS that Yun Heng's team in his laboratory next door also achieved a stage of success.

Moreover, Yun Heng and his project team also encountered the same problem as Chen Changan.

How to perfectly transfer a mutated gene into all hematopoietic stem cells?

Yunheng's project team has made various attempts, including but not limited to the use of zinc finger technology, transcription, and critic-cas9 and other genome editing technologies, but none of them can effectively transfer all stem cells into genes that can be immune to AIDS at one time.

This is obviously a difficult problem to overcome.

After trying many times but failing, Yun Heng had no choice but to come to Chen Changan with the report.

He also heard Chen Changan say that their project to treat Down syndrome also requires large-scale gene editing. Since Chen Changan proposed this topic, he must have relied on it.

When Yun Heng came to the door, Chen Changan was also doing gene editing simulation modeling. The newly purchased supercomputer at the research center is really useful. Just enter some code and data, and the supercomputer can truly simulate the entire experimental process, which improves the efficiency of scientific research work.

It’s a little expensive. One set of supercomputers costs millions, and ten sets of supercomputers cost tens of millions, but this money is worth it!

Seeing Yun Heng knocking on the door and walking into the supercomputer room, Chen Changan smiled and said hello: "Professor Yun, do you also want to use supercomputer? Wait for a while, I may have to spend half an hour."

However, Yun Heng shook his head, "Mr. Chen, I have something to ask you for, it's about our project team."

"Oh?" Chen Changan sat back on the chair, reached out to signal Yun Heng to sit down and said.

"Our project team has achieved a phase of success in the research on AIDS treatment."

"R     5 genes were transferred into cells in vitro, and the actual effect was very significant. When HIV comes into contact with this gene-edited cell, it cannot combine with it at all, which can effectively prevent HIV infection."

AIDS is a virus that can attack the human immune system. It takes the most important CD4t lymphocytes in the human immune system as the main target of attack, destroying the cell in large quantities and causing the body to lose its immune function.

However, a few Nordic humans have a congenital protein receptor gene mutation, which makes these immune cells in their bodies unable to bind to HIV.

In other words, immune cells without protein receptors are like wearing a "invisible cloak". When HIV enters the body, the virus cannot find a target that can be attacked, so it cannot invade the cells and proliferate itself. In the end, the virus will be completely removed by the human body.

People with this protein receptor gene mutation are congenitally immune to AIDS cells.

It is also based on this phenomenon that two crazy scientists in China tried to use gene editing technology to artificially embed this gene into the embryo to create gene-edited babies with congenital immunity to AIDS.

After the incident was exposed, not only were it condemned by international public opinion, but it was also arrested and eaten in a prison cell.

However, Yun Heng did not have the crazy idea of ​​gene editing babies.

He explained to Chen Changan in detail: "Our project team has a research idea, r     5 genes, which are transferred into the hematopoietic stem cells of AIDS patients."

"In this way, when hematopoietic stem cells differentiate into new T lymphocytes, these immune cells will have this genotype. The HIV originally lurking in the body will not be able to combine with the new immune cells and will not continue to infect the human body. Then, after the virus loses its target, it will naturally be removed by the human body!"

"AIDS patients will be completely cured!"

"The idea is very feasible. What went wrong during the research process?" Chen Changan nodded in agreement.

The research direction proposed by Yun Heng is theoretically fine, and it is much more realistic than his plan to treat Down syndrome.

After all, Yun Heng just wanted to transfer a special gene into hematopoietic stem cells. What Chen Changan wanted to do was to transfer a special gene into all cells in the human body. That would be easier to operate, and it was obviously visible at a glance.

And Yun Heng's plan has another advantage, that is, his gene editing plan does not involve the fundamental genetic genes of human beings. This gene mutation is limited to hematopoietic stem cells. There is no such gene mutation in other cells in the human body, and genetic cells naturally do not carry this gene mutation.

In other words, AIDS patients who are cured using this method will not carry this gene mutation even if they have children later. This will not affect the human gene pool or the diversity of human genes.

This one-time treatment method is obviously the most in line with the current medical ethics. If once gene editing involves genetic genes, it will permanently modify the human genes, then it will touch the red line and will not be tolerated.

Chen Changan boldly wanted to add the xist gene to the cell gene of Tang's son, which actually changed the genetic material and would be inherited to the next generation.

But he has other preparations and considerations.

The problem now is that Yun Heng has some bottlenecks in actual research.

Yun Heng complained to Chen Changan with some annoyance: "Mr. Chen, we have tried it in in vitro cells. This treatment method is indeed feasible. R       5 gene is transferred into the patient's hematopoietic stem cells, or how to induce hematopoietic stem cells to have this gene mutation, we cannot do this at this stage."

Chen Changan touched his chin and fell into deep thought.

Yun Heng did raise a difficult question, r     5 gene, how to replace these unmutated genes with mutated genes is obviously a big problem.

r     5 genes, that's because he happens to suffer from leukemia and just happens to find a suitable bone marrow donor. At the same time, the donor carries rare gene mutations that can resist the attack of HIV.

After all the coincidences, the luck is cured by AIDS.

And even so, his body will reject the donor's bone marrow cells, so he also needs to take anti-rejection drugs for a long time or even for life. This is no different from taking anti-AIDS drugs for life, which means that the patient has not been cured yet.

Currently, the treatment of antiviral drugs for AIDS is very mature. AIDS patients only need to take one drug every day to suppress the virus to an extremely low level and extend their lifespan by more than 50 years.

The ultimate goal of treating AIDS is to stop taking medications, which will reduce the demand for anti-AIDS drugs of about $1.2 billion a year and can completely curb the spread of AIDS. That's the key point.

It is meaningless and unrealistic to just copy the treatment method of curing AIDS in Berlin patients.
Chapter completed!