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[Phoenix]

WASHINGTON -- A common virus that is harmless to people can destroy cancerous cells in the body and might be developed into a new cancer therapy, US researchers said.

The virus, called adeno-associated virus type 2, or AAV-2, infects an estimated 80 percent of the population.

"Our results suggest that adeno-associated virus type 2, which infects the majority of the population but has no known ill effects, kills multiple types of cancer cells yet has no effect on healthy cells," said Craig Meyers, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Penn State College of Medicine in Pennsylvania.

"We believe that AAV-2 recognizes that the cancer cells are abnormal and destroys them. This suggests that AAV-2 has great potential to be developed as an anti-cancer agent," Meyers said in a statement.

He said at a meeting of the American Society for Virology that studies have shown women infected with AAV-2 who are also infected with a cancer-causing wart virus called HPV develop cervical cancer less frequently than uninfected women do.

AAV-2 is a small virus that cannot replicate itself without the help of another virus.

But with the help of a second virus it kills cells.

For their study, Meyers and colleagues first infected a batch of human cells with HPV, some strains of which cause cervical cancer. They then infected these cells and normal cells with AAV-2.

After six days, all the HPV-infected cells died.

The same thing happened with cervical, breast, prostate and squamous cell tumor cells.

All are cancers of the epithelial cells, which include skin cells and other cells that line the insides and outsides of organs.

"One of the most compelling findings is that AAV-2 appears to have no pathologic effects on healthy cells," Meyers said.

"So many cancer therapies are as poisonous to healthy cells as they are to cancer cells. A therapy that is able to distinguish between healthy and cancer cells could be less difficult to endure for those with cancer."

AAV-2 is being studied intensively as a gene therapy vector -- a virus modified to carry disease-correcting genes into the body.

Gene therapy researchers favor it because it does not seem to cause disease or immune system reaction on its own.

Source

CNN Has a video for this as well

 

[human5892]

http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=52873

 

[Jeffahn]

Viruses +1

...

 

[Phoenix]

http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=52873

Didn't see it on initial search, nevertheless - this news is good enough to warrant being posted again

 

[Deleted member 1235]

faster dudes, faster.

 

[Brannon]

It takes an undead germ-like object to kill a radical abnormal cell?

Pretty slick God, pretty damn slick.

 

[Diablos]

Heh, as far as they KNOW it can't do anything bad to "infected" people.

Should this cure cancer, they will need to study it further to ensure that it truly does not end up infecting the body.

It's kind of like curing AIDS with mosquitos. I believe if you had AIDS and someone were to give you a shot filled with mosquito blood, the AIDS virus would die. But your body would puff up and you'd die later.

 

[Polari]

AIDS is shaking its head, thinking about how much overtime it's gonna have to start putting in.

 

[Diablos]

AIDS is a problem, a serious problem...

I am really glad they found a potential cure for cancer, though. Hopefully it really will work.

 

[Dice]

AAV-2 has no affect on people besides killing cancer.... That is, until the person actually dies and it's second function activates, making them ZOMBIES!

 

[FightyF]

Heh, as far as they KNOW it can't do anything bad to "infected" people.

Should this cure cancer, they will need to study it further to ensure that it truly does not end up infecting the body.

It's kind of like curing AIDS with mosquitos. I believe if you had AIDS and someone were to give you a shot filled with mosquito blood, the AIDS virus would die. But your body would puff up and you'd die.

Sounds like the basis for a new Zombie flick.

*scuffles away*
*scuffles back*

Ok, I wrote the script and copyrighted that idea.

Is scuffles even a word? Why am I still posting? I finished my work long ago, time to get off the PC.

Anyways this is GREAT news, I just hope that it's not like all other cures in research, where it makes a short blip and then falls off the radar.

 

[Diablos]

Uh oh, Capcom just got an idea for the next Resident Evil plot!

 

[pnjtony]

AAV-2 has no affect on people besides killing cancer.... That is, until the person actually dies and it's second function activates, making them ZOMBIES!

AAV-2 already infects the majority of the worlds population

 

[Dice]

AAV-2 already infects the majority of the worlds population

It hasn't activated yet. It's still a mystery as to what does that, otherwise we wouldn't have a zombie problem.

 

[FightyF]

Oh jeez...Dice beat me to it.

Beat me in regards to posting...but apparently I was able to copyright it first.

 

[maharg]

It's kind of like curing AIDS with mosquitos. I believe if you had AIDS and someone were to give you a shot filled with mosquito blood, the AIDS virus would die. But your body would puff up and you'd die later.

... what...

 

[GDGF]

It's kind of like curing AIDS with mosquitos. I believe if you had AIDS and someone were to give you a shot filled with mosquito blood, the AIDS virus would die. But your body would puff up and you'd die later.

Mansquito begs to differ!

 

[Diablos]

... what...

:lol Dammit.

 

[Keyser Soze]

So it now a choice between cancer and humans having tank like controls... here is hoping they install a 180 degree turn button on the newer models

 

[Diablos]

I feel bad for anyone who believed what I was saying about the mosquitos. :lol

 

[maharg]

Believed? :lol

It's just a total wtf. I'm baffled that the words even made it to a keyboard.

 

[mrklaw]

I'm not interested until they put this stuff in a delicious yoghurt drink.

 

[LakeEarth]

This thread title sounds too excited. There have been so many "potential" cancer fighting agents that didn't turn out its amazing.

 

[Pudding Tame]

Lights a smoke to celebrate!