(image: Pixabay)
SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — A research team from the Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) found that obesity strengthens resistance to the infection of the herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) that causes sexually transmitted diseases.
The infection of the HSV-2 induces blisters around reproductive organs, causing tickling and pain.
The virus permeates into nerve tissues, making it difficult to detect infection and treatment.
The research team found that the bacteria inserted into the vagina of an obese female rat actively produced arginine, a kind of amino acid that played an important role in the initial infection of the herpes virus.
Arginine strengthened the anti-virus immune reaction of the gamma delta T cells within the vagina.
It suppressed the infection and transmission of the virus before immune cells were activated.
Unlike lean rats that exhibited a high level of lesions and eventually died, obese rats showed a relatively low level of lesions, and half of them survived.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
