The good people at Harvard University took another step in the combat against HIV/AIDS.
HIV is a relatively simple virus, consisting of a handful of genes. But somehow it is able to infiltrate, infect and replicate within healthy cells. Accordingly, researchers observe that HIV works only on a selected group of proteins, which they dub “HIV dependency factors.”
The advantage of targeting human proteins is that the virus would presumably not be able to mutate to avoid drugs that block them, Dr. Elledge said. Right now, virus strains evolve resistance to antiretroviral drugs, which attack the 15 proteins made by the virus itself, such as reverse transcriptase and protease. The mutations force AIDS patients to switch drug regimens and that is not always successful.
The disadvantage is that blocking human proteins can, obviously, be fatal to humans. But, as Dr. Gallo pointed out, cancer therapy works that way — doctors try to block proteins that feed fast-growing tumor cells without killing too many other fast-growing cells, such as those in the bone marrow.
But most of today’s AIDS drugs work by targeting the HIV virus itself. In August, the government approved sale of the first drug that works by blocking an HIV dependency factor, a cellular doorway called CCR5. The hope is that this longer list of those factors will point toward spots where similar drugs might work.
I think this is sorely needed, given the recent New York Times article saying that also highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) has increased life spans considerably, these medications also take a very toxic toll on the body in the downside to living longer.
It is a long battle, but a good step in the right direction.
Source: Study Finds Possible Targets for AIDS Drugs
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