Potential New Drug Blocks All Known Strains of HIV

A team of scientists from the Scripps Research Institute have engineered a molecule, which they feel has the potential to provide protection against the transmission of HIV. This could possibly lead to a new form of therapy and may also open doors to other alternative medicines such as vaccines.

Studies have revealed that the molecule has the ability to block infections from the virus that is known to cause AIDS. The drug is said to provide protection from every known kind of HIV 1 (most common form of virus that affects the human population), HIV 2 (mainly concentrated around regions of West Africa and SIV (simian immune deficiency virus - primarily affects the primates).

When the body gets infected with HIV, the virus targets a crucial part of the immune system called the CD4 lymphocyte. The host cells gets transformed into a HIV manufacturing site when the virus fuses with the cell, imparting its own genetic material in the process.

The study is also based on a previous discovery where unusual modifications were noticed in CCR5 (a type of co -receptor) in the HIV binding region. The scientists believed that the proteins from this region, could be used to fend off infections caused by the virus.

A press statement issued by the Institute read, "With this knowledge, (lead researcher) Michael Farzan and his team developed the new drug candidate so that it binds to two sites on the surface of the virus simultaneously, preventing entry of HIV into the host cell." The team is currently hopeful that human trials can begin within a year.

The drug test was carried out on a group of macaque monkeys where, they were infected with a hybrid version of the virus. The researchers noticed that the protein provided protection to the monkeys for a period of 40 weeks even though they were infected with repeated doses of the virus that was up to 16 times more than the normal limit.

According to the press statement, "It also protects against much higher doses of virus than occur in most human transmission and does so for at least eight months after injection."

"The novel drug candidate is so potent and universally effective, it might work as part of an unconventional vaccine."