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A new study shows that the HIV virus appears to have an easier
time establishing itself in the gut than it does in the circulatory
system.
Researchers from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
have found that T-cells in the gut are particularly receptive to
HIV and have six times the number of receptors compared with circulating
blood cells.
One of the researchers, in an interview with Reuters Health, said
that studies in monkeys have shown that regardless of HIV's port
of entry into the body, viral cells flock to the gut.
This helps to explain why unprotected sex is so risky, since just
a small tear in a mucosal surface could provide an easy entry for
the virus.
Scientists are investigating whether a drug designed to block the
T-cell receptors can be put into a lubricant or spermicide in order
to prevent the spread or transmission of HIV.
AIDS August 2000.
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