Researcher RYOO Jeongmin

Professor AHN Kwangseog and researcher RYOO Jeongmin (Dept. of Biological Sciences) have discovered an enzyme which breaks down HIV, the virus which causes AIDS, and presented a possibility for a new type of AIDS vaccine. This team found that ‘SAMHD-1’ protein, which consists of 626 amino acids, decomposes the RNA of HIV. They also found that when the concentration of base in a given cell is low, the ‘SAMHD-1’ becomes active and breaks down HIV RNA. Professor Ahn said that “this discovery will provide an important basis for future vaccine developments,” as many anti-HIV medicines rely on keeping the concentration of base in a low state.

• The research outcome was published in the July 20 edition of Nature Medicine
• Professor AHN Kwangseog's lab: http://biosci.snu.ac.kr/ksahn
• SNU Dept. of Biological Sciences: http://biosci.snu.ac.kr/

Summary by LEE Hee Un, SNU English Editor, gurume0221@snu.ac.kr