Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press - 7 Dec 1995
The researchers identified molecules that the body's immune system secretes, and laboratory tests show the natural biological material can stop reproduction of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
"We identified this family (of molecules) and found that they are very powerful," said Dr. Robert Gallo, co-discoverer of the AIDS virus and director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland.
When tested against cultures of HIV, said Gallo, the natural substance "is a very strong inhibition. It stops it (the virus) pretty cold."
Gallo, who supervised the work while at the National Cancer Institute, reports in the journal Science that his team isolated three types of molecules called chemokines that are produced naturally by white blood cells. The research was released Wednesday and will be published in the Dec. 15 edition of the journal.
In a correspondence published Thursday in the British journal Nature, a team at the Paul Ehrlich Institute in Langen, Germany, led by Reinhard Kurth, report the team's discovery that an immune system chemical called interleukin-16 is able to suppress both HIV and simian immunodeficiency virus, or SIV, a virus that causes AIDS in monkeys.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the discoveries open a new door on AIDS research and that all four of the natural molecules may play a role in suppressing HIV. He told Science he found the American results particularly convincing.
"Gallo is getting really impressive suppression at low concentrations, and in the Kurth paper the concentrations are much higher," Fauci said in Science. "They are both important papers."
AIDS researchers around the world have been trying to identify the natural HIV-fighting chemicals since University of California, San Francisco, researchers found in 1989 that the body's CD8 white blood cells produced some sort virus-killing substance.
Gallo and his team isolated three such substances, called RANTES, MIP-1-alpha and MIP-1-beta, and then tested them against several different cultures of HIV and SIV. Virus reproduction was shutdown, said Gallo.
All three of the substances are types of chemokines, a factor that the body musters as part of the wound-healing process.
Kurth and his group found that interleukin-16 had the same anti-HIV effect, although it took a higher concentration.
Gallo said that if the chemokines prove to be non-toxic in animal tests now underway, then they could possibly be used to control HIV for long periods of time in infected patients.
Precisely how the chemokines are able to suppress HIV is still not understood, said Gallo, but "by studying their mechanism of action, we may very well learn how HIV causes disease."
Although HIV-infected people produce anti-viral CD8 secretions naturally, prior research shows that the levels decline as the immune system deteriorates. Gallo said it may be possible to boost the body's production of these substances.
Kurth said interleukin-16 will have to be tested in animals not only for its usefulness but also for side effects. High doses of other interleukins are known to cause fever, diarrhea and other problems, he noted. Combining IL-16 with other drugs might reduce the dose of each required and diminish the side effects from each, he said.
Although the natural molecules may eventually be developed into powerful weapons against HIV, neither Kurth nor Gallo said the substances offer the promise of an AIDS cure.
"We are talking about control" of HIV, Gallo said. "It will be like diabetes that is controlled with insulin."
Copyright 1995/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.
951207
AP951213
Copyright © 1995 - Associated Press. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the AP Permissions Desk.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, National Library of Medicine, Pacific Life Foundation, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1995. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 1995. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .