Discovery of HIV - Research Paper Example

Many people still do not understand the origin of HIV and the truth behind it. This paper, therefore, describes the discovery and origin of HIV, including how the scientific agreements and consensus-building are based on evidences and logics. Diagram: How HIV Invade T-Cell Retrieved from: http://www.nature.com/nri/journal/v8/n6/fig_tab/nri2302_F4.html The history of HIV discovery began in late 1970s, when many people believed that epidemic diseases caused by microbes and viruses were never a threat to developed and industrialized countries.

In addition, many people also believed that viruses never caused cancer, and nothing existed as retrovirus, which infected humans (Barre-Sinoussi, 2010). These beliefs, however, were successfully approved by scientist researchers, since the attempts to find retroviruses in cancer and other diseases in human beings all ended up in vain. Most retrovirus researchers also turned their work to study oncogenes (Gallo & Montagnier, 2003). The establishment of HIV and AIDS began with the identification of human T-cell leukemia virus types 1 and 2 (HTLV-1 and HTLV-2).

These viruses were established to cause the abnormal T-cell leukemia. The other contributor to the discovery of HIV and AIDS is the process for growing T lymphocytes in culture for a period that is enough to allow development of putative latent retrovirus (Marlin & Ed, 2011). This research study helped in the separation of T-cell growth factor in Bethesda, Maryland. In Paris, it was demonstrated that interferon can suppress the production of retroviruses in mouse cell. This idea led to the use of anti-interferon serum in the search for human retroviruses (Levy, 1993).

Francoise Barre-Sinoussi Francoise Barre-Sinoussi is a young retroviriologist working at the institute Pasteur in Paris. One year earlier, a cluster of Pneumocystis carinii (p jirovecii) causing pneumonia infection had been established among gay men in Los Angeles, USA. This paved way for research and discovery of global AIDS epidemic (Barre-Sinoussi, 2010). Barre-Sinoussi’s began her research work together with Willy Rozenbaum. They focused their research in patients who had not developed AIDS; since they discovered that infected patients lacked CD4 cells if at all the causative agent was attacked T lymphocytes.

Barre-Sinoussi, along side other researchers from institute Pasteur, began their work by growing cells from a biopsy that was obtained from a patient. These cells were obtained from a cell culture in the presence of interleukin 2, initially known as T-cell growth factor (Barre-Sinoussi, 2010). They were focused to obtain a retrovirus, and during that period, HTLV-1 was the recognized model of human retrovirus. These researchers, however, did not assume that the virus had the same characteristics as HTLV-1.

After two weeks, they realized a reverse transcriptase activity in the culture. Instead of the virus immortalizing other cells, they were found dead. In order to save the virus, they asked for a new sample and quickly added lymphocytes from the culture (Barre-Sinoussi, 2010). Again, they noticed a reversed transcriptase activity in the new sample. Over the following years, tests were developed, the virus characterized, and confirmatory discoveries made. The research community then named this virus as HIV.

After the initial discoveries, Barre-Sinoussi still continued with her research work focusing primarily on the