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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Thornir Alekeg" data-source="post: 2394983" data-attributes="member: 15651">Actually what they found was that there is a certain population with a mutant form of the CCR5 receptor.  If a person is homozygous (has two copies) of the mutant form of CCR5, they actually are immune to the HIV strains that use the CCR5 receptor to enter cells - the virus is incapable of entering the CD4 cells and causing infection.  If a person is heterozygous (has one mutant copy and one normal copy) then the have a delayed onset of the disease - it takes the virus longer to enter the CD4 cells.  Because there are other strains of the virus out there that don't use this protein, researchers and officials are careful about touting this knowledge for fear that people will think that they don't have to worry as much about HIV infection.  This knowledge will not lead to a vaccine of any kind unless somehow someone cracks the secrets of genetic modifications such that we could alter a person's CCR5 receptors to the mutant form, and even then it would take a lot of work to be sure that by modifying that receptor you aren't just setting people up for other problems, such as possibly an overall weakened immune system.</blockquote>