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Scientists Discover Gene That Weakens HIV

Posted on: Friday, 21 March 2008, 00:05 CDT

Researchers at University of Cape Town in South Africa reported Friday the discovery of a variation of an immunity gene that weakens the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), slowing down the progression of AIDS and making the virus less potent if transmitted to others.

HIV is the virus that causes AIDS, and like all viruses it must invade and takeover cells in order to replicate itself. But in order for the virus to successfully hijack the cell, it must evade several genes, including an immunity virus named HLA.

"Some people have versions of the HLA gene that are known to force HIV to tolerate mutations that damage its ability to reproduce," wrote Carolyn Williamson and Salim Abdool Karim at the Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa, in a report about the study.

Williamson, who led the study, told Reuters the weaker virus results in slower disease progression in these people. It now appears this weakened virus may get transmitted and act the same way in others, even those without the protective HLA genes, she said.

"The significant difference to other studies is that this is showing the actual benefit is due to the genetic composition of the virus," said Williamson, an AIDS researcher at the University of Cape Town.

"This study shows you can have a survival advantage with a virus containing specific genetic signatures associated with lower replication."

Williamson’s study tracked 21 women without the protective form of HLA who were recently infected with the weakened HIV strain. The researchers discovered these women had much lower levels of HIV in their bodies than those who carried a form of HIV that had not mutated in such a way.

"It is pretty well established if you have certain HLA genes you are better off," Williamson said in a Reuters telephone interview.

"It is very likely that the virus in the people who did not have the HLA genes came from individuals who did."

The research team tracked the women for one to three years, and found that while their HIV levels fell, their CD4 T cells counts, vital in coordinating the immune system, actually rose.

The goal of HIV treatment is to lower the levels of virus in the body, and to help the immune system restore itself to keep people healthier longer, in part to curtail the spread of the virus.

The researchers have not determined precisely how much slower the women progressed to full-blown AIDS, but they believe the study’s findings could someday lead to an effective vaccine by understanding why certain people survive longer.

Currently, there is no cure or vaccine for AIDS, which has killed 25 million people.

The study was published in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Pathogens. The full report can be viewed here.

Source: redOrbit staff and wires

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