- NHF members reside in these countries:
AIDS - Retrovirus Expression Regulated by Methylation?
By Sepp Hasslberger www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp
May 18, 2006
AIDS may not be what we are told it is - a retrovirus-mediated disease.
Illustration of what HIV is thought to look like.Image source
Rebecca Culshaw, a statistical mathematician and biologist came to the conclusion that the official explanation of how AIDS is caused does not make sense, when analyzing the statistical data with a view to finding ways to overcome the syndrome. Culshaw quit her AIDS related work and she explains why in her recent article.
Looking for the real cause of AIDS, geo-epidemiologist Dr Harold Foster discovered that selenium, as well as three aminoacids are generally found to be low in AIDS victims and are also low in the food supply where AIDS is found in higher concentrations. In a recent newsletter, the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service makes reference to Harold Foster's discovery saying that high doses of the trace element selenium, and of the amino acids cysteine, tryptophan, and glutamine can together rapidly reverse the symptoms of AIDS.
Chinese researchers have found selenium to be an important mineral nutrient to prevent both AIDS and Avian Flu. The article of Qu Yuan, Qu Lai, and Qu Shaozhong Avian influenza’s “internal factor" of selenium deficiency and an epidemic prevention strategy of "treating the cause” makes interesting reading.
Beldeu Singh from Malaysia says that AIDS and CFS are Caused By Oxidative Damage.
Now to tie this together even more, Cal Crilly, an artist from Brisbane Australia and long time AIDS activist, adds an important piece to the puzzle. He explains that retrovirus expression is suppressed by proper methylation of our DNA, which in turn depends on a selenium compound, S-adenosyl-methionine.
Here is Cal's contribution to the discussion. Perhaps one day - hopefully soon - we will see this accumulating knowledge on the real etiology of AIDS translated into actual solutions for those who are suffering... CDC take note.
Cal Crilly found these connecting links and posted them as a comment to
Glutathione Peroxidase - Selenium, Aminoacids Overcome AIDS:
I have to point out what everyone may be missing.
Our genome is made up of about 40% transposable elements in the DNA.
Transposable elements means they can move around.
These are kept in check by a thing called DNA methylation, if your DNA isn’t properly methylated with the right nutrients then the transposons can move around.
The transposons include 8% retroviruses and one of them is called HERV-K and cross reacts with the HIV antibody test.
The main nutrient for methylation is a selenium compund called S-adenosyl-methionine.
Folic acid and Choline as well.
When you look at studies on HIV and our own retroviruses (my opinion is that HIV is normally in everyone’s body) you find over and over again that Hypomethylation (lack of methylation) makes the retroviruses come out.
Or if you hypermethylate (over-methylate) they get suppressed.
“These results suggest that DNA hypermethylation of the HIV LTR may change the binding characteristics between LTR sequences and cellular proteins, thereby suppressing HIV LTR transcription and modulating viral expression.”
Inactivation of the HIV LTR by DNA CpG methylation: evidence for a role in latency
These studies show this phenomenon.
“Several cytidine analogs with known mutagenic capability were tested for their effects on DNA methylation and on induction of endogenous murine retrovirus. For each of the compounds tested it was found that DNA methylation was inhibited at the same concentrations that were required to induce virus expression. With each compound it was observed that increased dose levels produced an increase in the ability to inhibit methylation and an increase in the ability to induce virus.”
Effects of cytidine analogs on methylation of DNA and retrovirus induction.
CpG Methylation Directly Regulates Transcriptional Activity of the Human Endogenous Retrovirus Family HERV-K(HML-2)
The problem is that all illness including cancer, AIDS, and the autoimmune diseases have an increase in retroviral expression, so how can we tell if HIV is a transmitted retrovirus when all our own retroviruses come out when we are ill?
HERV-W, another of our retroviruses is also involved in pregnancy and this is why pregnant women in Africa are at risk from the HIV test.
Here it turns up in cancer but only because our DNA is hypomethylating.
This is one of the reasons why Glutathione a Selenium compound helps with HIV and cancer.
It is also cell protective.
“Intracellular levels of glutathione are depleted in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in whom the risk of tuberculosis, particularly disseminated disease is many times that of healthy individuals. In this study, we examined the role of glutathione in immunity against tuberculosis infection in samples derived from healthy and human immunodeficiency virus infected subjects. Our studies confirm that glutathione levels are reduced in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and in red blood cells isolated from human immunodeficiency virus-infected subjects (CD4>400/cumm). Furthermore, treatment of blood cultures from human immunodeficiency virus infected subjects with N-acetyl cysteine, a glutathione precursor, caused improved control of intracellular M. tuberculosis infection.”
Glutathione and growth inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in healthy and HIV infected subjects.
“In AIDS patients, chronic inflammation and elevated levels of cytokines seem to be associated with lower levels of GSH: GSH levels decrease rapidly upon infection with HIV and continue to decline as the disease progresses. Investigators have shown that agents that increase intracellular levels of GSH inhibit HIV replication.”
Potential role of reduced glutathione as an antiviral agent
Now they knew as far back as 1991 that Glutathione stopped HIV but in this study they also mentioned AZT causes Glutathione depletion, this means AZT causes HIV expression and AIDS in the long run.
AZT only seems to work in the short term because it hypermethylates DNA.
“Azidothymidine causes functional and structural destruction of mitochondria, glutathione deficiency.”
Suppression of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Expression in Chronically Infected Monocytic Cells by Glutathione, Glutathione Ester, and N-Acetylcysteine 1991.