In the frustrating 40-year effort to develop a vaccine for HIV/AIDS, hardworking scientists could certainly use some help.
Newly published research suggests they may have found some in the form of a common white blood cell called a CD4 T cell lymphocyte — also known, incidentally, as a helper T cell.
A critical component of the human immune system, helper T cells also happen to be a primary target of HIV. When the virus erodes the level of these protective T cells to a critically low point, a person becomes vulnerable to lethal infections — developing AIDS.
