"Cofactor Question Divides Codiscoverers of HIV"

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1990. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

"Cofactor Question Divides Codiscoverers of HIV"

Journal of the American Medical Association (12/26/90) Vol. 264, No. 24, P. 3111
Cotton, Paul

Abstract: HIV codiscoverers Robert Gallo and Luc Montagnier cannot agree on the role of cofactors in development of AIDS, even at a recent meeting of the American Association of Blood Banks, at which the two received a joint award for improving the safety of the blood supply. Gallo says certain viruses, such as HTLV-I and HHV-6, may accelerate HIV progression, but most important in pathogenesis is the envelop protein gp120, which down-regulates T cell growth factor. Montagnier claims that the cause of AIDS has never been fully explained: why some develop the disease quickly while others may harbor the virus for years. He says mycoplasma, while not obligatory cofactors, could cause the overwhelming systemic infection that leads to progressive loss of CD4 cells and AIDS. They may be key factors of infection, he says, which would require an effective antibiotic treatment approach. Gallo says HHV-6 is a theoretically possible cofactor, but is so prevalent in the population that its effects would be difficult to prove.

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