The Associated Press; Tuesday, October 1, 1991

GAINESVILLE - A University of Florida researcher is conducting studies to try to learn why infants born to mothers who carry the AIDS virus often develop the full-blown disease before their infected mothers do.

"Newborns infected with HIV usually develop full-blown AIDS within their first year of life, even if their infected mothers still show no symptoms of the disease," said Maureen Goodenow, a molecular geneticist.

"We are investigating whether a mother and child can each carry different forms of a particular AIDS viral gene," said Goodenow, an assistant professor of pathology and pediatrics at UF's College of Medicine.

She is among the first scientists to investigate possible inherited differences in susceptibility to HIV infection.

In a two-year study due to end this month, Goodenow's team is zeroing in on a viral gene believed to regulate the timing of AIDS symptoms.

In the early stages of infection, the AIDS virus typically goes into a "latency" stage, lurking for months or even years in the nucleus of white blood cells, she said.

Until it emerges, if at all, patients show no sign of illness, even though their blood tests positive for HIV infection.

"Nobody has a clue what keeps the AIDS virus latent in some infected people," said Goodenow, whose viral gene study is backed by a $130,000 grant from the Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

"Since 600,000 American children are expected to be infected with HIV through maternal transmission by the year 2000, that's an important question."

Between 20 and 50 percent of all HIV-exposed newborns become infected with the virus, she said.

Her research examines genetic material obtained from the blood cells of mothers carrying HIV and compares it with the virus from their infected children, checking whether each carries different forms of the viral "latency gene."

In a related AIDS study, supported by a $590,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health, Goodenow is using molecular biology techniques to investigate how differences in the virus determine the biological course of the disease.

By comparing genetic material in blood cells of infected mothers with DNA of their children who display different symptoms, she is characterizing certain stages of the HIV life cycle that dictate which body cells the virus can infect.

2B, SUNDAY BULLDOG GOES W/NEWBORNS

* About 600,000 American children are expected to be infected with HIV through maternal transmission by the year 2000.

* Between 20 and 50 percent of all HIV-exposed newborns become infected with the virus.

* In a two-year study, Maureen Goodenow, a molecular geneticist, is zeroing in on a viral gene believed to regulate the timing of AIDS symptoms. In a related study, Goodenow is using molecular biology techniques to investigate how differences in the virus determine the biological course of the disease.

HIV normally targets T-cells, which are white blood cells in the immune system, for infection. But the virus also is known to infect cells in the brain and elsewhere, which contributes to neurological illnesses and other disorders related to AIDS.

Copyright 1991/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
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