Researchers manipulate genes to create immunity to parasites — 5 takeaways

Researchers from the University of Virginia School of Medicine and the University of Colorado found changing the human body's landscape is a viable new strategy to remove the mechanism that enables pathogens to cause disease, according to UVA Today.

Here are five takeaways from the study.

1. Researchers silenced genes in human cells to prompt immunity to the parasite E. histolytica. The parasite infects 50 million individuals every year and causes 40,000 to 110,000 deaths each year around the world.

2. Researchers utilized a technique common in cancer research, RNAi, to develop a library of bladder cancer cells with thousands of independent, silenced genes. They were then able to fight these cultures with E. histolytica.

3. The findings showed a small percent of these cells resisted the parasite, although researchers were unsure if this was a random chance or if the silence genes provided immunity.

4. To determine why the cells resisted the parasite, the researchers disposed of the dead cells and retested the surviving cells. Researchers found it was not a matter of chance, but the silenced cells did provide immunity.

5. Following these findings, researchers aim to create new drugs targeting E. Histolytica.

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