Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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San Francisco Examiner - April 13, 2005
Marisa Lagos, mlagos@examiner.com
Dr. Greene, director of the UCSF-affiliated Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology, and his laboratory discovered why some CD4 T-cells - the main target of HIV - are able to fend off the virus, while others are essentially destroyed by it.
The reason, according to the study published Wednesday in the online version of Nature, is that a form of a potent antiviral factor exists in resting T-cells, allowing them to fight off HIV. A larger, ineffective form of the antiviral factor exists in activated T-cells, where HIV wreaks havoc.
In an interview from Canada, where he is attending an HIV/AIDS conference, Greene said the knowledge could lend itself to new therapies and strategies for preventing the spread of HIV infection in the human body.
"I think it gives us a brand new perspective," said Greene. "It completely changes way we look at the whole problem ... when you realize resting T-cells have figured out a way to be completely resistant to HIV. If we can find out a way to [mimic that], we'll really be in business."
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