Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press - 9 August 1996
The finding answers one mystery of the AIDS epidemic - how some people get away with breaking all the safe sex rules - and opens new possibilities for treating and preventing the disease.
If scientists can find a way to mimic the effects of this inborn genetic shield, it may be possible to create a pill that will keep people from becoming infected with the AIDS virus.
The key is a mutation in the genes that direct the body's defenses against disease. In this case, one of the genes is missing a chunk of information, so the body fails to produce a particular protein. This protein is one of the docking points the AIDS virus needs to invade cells.
Those who are born with two copies of the mutant gene - one from Mom, one from Dad - appear to be highly resistant to AIDS infection, although experts are not sure if their protection is absolute.
"What's very surprising is how common this mutation is. We originally thought people with this would be one in a million. Actually, it's more like one in 100" white people, said Dr. Nathan R. Landau of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York City.
In addition, a surprising 20% or so of whites were found to have one copy. The effects of having one copy are still unclear. But the researchers believe it makes people somewhat less likely to get infected and may help them survive much longer once infection occurs.
Experts believe there soon will be a simple blood test to reveal whether people have one, two or no copies of the gene.
Already, some experts worry that people will throw away their condoms if they learn they have two copies.
"That would be folly. We are just on the threshold of understanding all of this," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Landau and colleagues studied two gay men who had watched 40 or 50 of their friends and lovers die of AIDS. They volunteered because they wondered why their own high exposure to the virus had not led to infection, too.
In a report in Friday's issue of the journal Cell, the scientists reported the answer: Both men have two mutant copies of a newly discovered gene called CCR5.
"All over the world, wherever people look, there is a small fraction of people who seem not to get infected" despite multiple exposure, said Dr. Robert W. Doms of the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. "For whites, it is often going to be because of this mutation. But this may just be the beginning of an interesting story."
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