German scientists have identified a molecule in human blood that can block HIV from infecting immune cells and multiplying. The findings, which are published in the latest issue of the journal Cell, could pave the way for new drug development against HIV/AIDS.
The discovery was made by researchers who screened a library of more than a million small peptides that had been filtered from the blood of patients with chronic kidney failure during dialysis, in search of those with anti-HIV activity.
The most potent among them was a 20-residue peptide named Virus-inhibitory peptide (VIRIP). VIRIP targets a region in the HIV-1 envelope protein known as 'gp41 fusion peptide’ and prevents viral entry.
The researchers found that VIRIP inhibited a wide variety of HIV-1 strains, including those that had become resistant to current anti-retroviral drugs. Further analysis showed that only a few amino acid changes to the peptide fragment could enhance its anti-retroviral potency by two orders of magnitude.
To exclude the possibility that a contaminating agent might be responsible for the observed effects, the researchers also tested a chemically synthesised VIRIP for antiviral activity. Again they found the molecule to be effective and, most importantly, non-toxic, even at exceedingly high concentrations.
'The findings reveal a new target for inhibiting HIV that remains fully active against viral strains that are resistant to other drugs,’ said senior author, Dr Frank Kirchhoff, from the University of Ulm in Germany. 'That’s a big advantage.’
The researchers believe that following further development, VIRIP as an antiviral agent could lead to a new class of drugs that can block HIV-1 variants, including those that are resistant to the anti-retroviral agents that are currently available.
Category: Miscellaneous
Data Source Provider: Cell Journal
Document Reference: Based on the paper 'Münch J et al. Discovery and optimization of a natural HIV-1 entry inhibitor targeting the gp41 fusion peptide. Cell 129: 263-275, 2007.’
Subject Index: Medicine, Health; Scientific Research
RCN: 27576
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