Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International; Tuesday, September 30, 1997 - 11:19 AM EDT
Mara Bovsun in New York
Dr. Nelson Michael of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, says his investigation of the molecule, called CCR2, turned up "not even a hint of an effect."
He started investigating CCR2 because of a National Cancer Institute study published in August in the prestigious journal Science, suggesting that HIV-infected individuals with a minor genetic mutation in CCR2 got sick later than other patients.
Because the NCI study came out in a leading journal, he "dropped everything scientifically," diverting resources to trying to confirm the effect in CCR2.
Michael says his first "impression of CCR2 was that it wasn't that important."
Michael's study, appearing in October's Nature Medicine, is the first to show no benefit from a CCR2 mutation, but several other labs have also been unable to confirm disease-slowing effects, he says.
Michael says the NCI lab, which is dedicated to investigating genes and finding mutations, has other, similar findings coming up. But, Michael says, "now I'm a little bit gun-shy."
Dr. Michael Dean, a member of the NCI team, says he stands by his group's finding that CCR2 may slow disease, but he adds the mutation's impact may be indirect.
Dean says, "the fact that the effect is not obvious makes it all the more interesting."
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