Ground Report

Researchers have found another handle that the AIDS virus uses to attack cells,and said this one may explain how it gets into the gut,where it hides out and multiplies for a full assult on the body.The handle is a cell receptor,and its discovery could open new ways to fight the fatal and so far incurable virus,the team at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases reported on Sunday.The human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV,attacks immune systme cells,or lymphocytes,known as CD4 T-cells.It was known to use three main receptors,or molecular doorways,to infect cells: CD4,CCR5 and CXCR4.Writing in the journal Nature Immunology,the NIAID scientists said they found a similar receptor,more a handle than a doorway,called integrin alpha 4 beta 7.