Increasing Potency of HIV-Battling Proteins


"By linking two cyanovirins, we were able to make significantly more potent HIV-fighting molecules," says Jennifer Keeffe, a staff scientist at Caltech and first author of a new paper describing the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). "One of our linked molecules was 18 times more effective at preventing infection than the naturally occurring, single protein."... "The team's linked pairs, or dimers, were able to neutralize all 33 subtypes of HIV that they were tested against."


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110729175801.htm

http://www.sciencecodex.com/usc_scientist_develops_virus_that_targets_hiv

USC scientist develops virus that targets HIV
Posted On: August 8, 2011 - 7:30pm

In what represents an important step toward curing HIV, a USC scientist has created a virus that hunts down HIV-infected cells.

Dr. Pin Wang's lentiviral vector latches onto HIV-infected cells, flagging them with what is called "suicide gene therapy" — allowing drugs to later target and destroy them.
"If you deplete all of the HIV-infected cells, you can at least partially solve the problem," said Wang, chemical engineering professor with the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

The process is analogous to the military practice of "buddy lasing" — that is, having a soldier on the ground illuminate a target with a laser to guide a precision bombing strike from an aircraft.

Like a precision bombing raid, the lentiviral vector approach to targeting HIV has the advantage of avoiding collateral damage, keeping cells that are not infected by HIV out of harm's way. Such accuracy has not been achieved by using drugs alone, Wang said.

So far, the lentiviral vector has only been tested in culture dishes and has resulted in the destruction of about 35 percent of existing HIV cells. While that may not sound like a large percentage, if this treatment were to be used in humans, it would likely be repeated several times to maximize effectiveness. [...]

Baby steps...

Anything that reduces viral load is a good thing. It's another tool in the chest.

http://www.sciencecodex.com/new_drug_might_cu...tion_even_the_common_cold

[More on DRACO!!!] In a paper published July 27 in the journal PLoS One [http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0022572 ], the researchers tested their drug against 15 viruses, and found it was effective against all of them — including rhinoviruses that cause the common cold, H1N1 influenza, a stomach virus, a polio virus, dengue fever and several other types of hemorrhagic fever. The drug works by targeting a type of RNA produced only in cells that have been infected by viruses. “In theory, it should work against all viruses,” [...] Because the technology is so broad-spectrum, it could potentially also be used to combat outbreaks of new viruses, such as the 2003 SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak [...] When viruses infect a cell, they take over its cellular machinery for their own purpose — that is, creating more copies of the virus. During this process, the viruses create long strings of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), which is not found in human or other animal cells. As part of their natural defenses against viral infection, human cells have proteins that latch onto dsRNA, setting off a cascade of reactions that prevents the virus from replicating itself. However, many viruses can outsmart that system by blocking one of the steps further down the cascade. Rider had the idea to combine a dsRNA-binding protein with another protein that induces cells to undergo apoptosis (programmed cell suicide) — launched, for example, when a cell determines it is en route to becoming cancerous. Therefore, when one end of the DRACO binds to dsRNA, it signals the other end of the DRACO to initiate cell suicide. Combining those two elements is a “great idea” and a very novel approach, says Karla Kirkegaard, professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University. “Viruses are pretty good at developing resistance to things we try against them, but in this case, it’s hard to think of a simple pathway to drug resistance,” she says. Each DRACO also includes a “delivery tag,” taken from naturally occurring proteins, that allows it to cross cell membranes and enter any human or animal cell. However, if no dsRNA is present, DRACO leaves the cell unharmed. Most of the tests reported in this study were done in human and animal cells cultured in the lab, but the researchers also tested DRACO in mice infected with the H1N1 influenza virus. When mice were treated with DRACO, they were completely cured of the infection. The tests also showed that DRACO itself is not toxic to mice. [...]

A group of international scientists has joined their forces to promote research, trials and education on HIV reservoirs and eradication strategies.
http://www.hiv-reservoir.net/index.php/About-us/who-are-we.html