Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
PR Newswire; Monday, June 29, 1998, 12:26 pm EST
Two years ago, researchers identified two cellular co-receptors -- CXCR4 and CCR5 -- as essential for the binding, or fusion, of HIV to cell membranes. This fusion allows HIV to enter a cell; it then uses the cell's biological machinery to replicate more copies of HIV. Chemicals have been identified that mask the key receptor sites (CXCR4 & CCR5) of the immune cell, leaving no room for the HIV surface protein (gp41) to bind with the immune cell's receptors. Fusion of the HIV viral membrane and the immune cell (CD4+) is inhibited and further replication of the virus is prevented.
With a commitment to researching this new class, Hoffmann-La Roche recently announced a research collaboration between Roche and Progenics aimed at the discovery of inhibitors targeted at the HIV co-receptors. Through this collaboration, Roche and Progenics will increase momentum in HIV co-receptor inhibition research, with the goal of developing a valuable new class of antiretroviral agents to complement inhibitors of the reverse transcriptase and protease enzymes.
"While the benefits of today's protease inhibitors in treating HIV are clear, the potential for blocking infection of cells in the first place holds tremendous hope," said Nick Cammack, Ph.D. of Roche Discovery, Welwyn, UK. "Stopping HIV before it even has a chance to cause serious harm would be a dramatic step forward in HIV treatment. It would give the treating physician a third category of treatments to interfere with the replication of HIV." About Roche Laboratories Inc.
Roche Laboratories Inc. is the marketing and sales subsidiary of Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., a leading research-intensive pharmaceutical company. Roche Laboratories markets more than 35 medications in major therapeutic areas including AIDS, oncology, transplantation, infectious diseases, cardiovascular diseases and dermatology.
SOURCE: Hoffmann-La Roche Inc.
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