Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International - Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Current treatments for the virus that causes AIDS block it from replicating, but do not kill the cells that contain HIV. The xistence of these HIV-harboring cells -- often called the "latent" or "resting reservoir" cells -- is considered the main obstacle to curing AIDS.
"These drugs used to treat patients today -- which do an excellent job on suppressing replicating virus -- do nothing for the infectious virus contained within the latent reservoir," said Dr. Andrew Badley, the lead researcher. "If we can find a way to kill the virus that is present within the latent reservoir, we are on to a promising path towards a cure for HIV."
The team built upon their own earlier findings that showed a molecule named TRAIL is a potential agent for treating HIV within the resting reservoir. They experimented on cells taken from HIV-infected patients and then treated in laboratory test tubes. Results showed the molecule was effective in killing the HIV cells in a majority of samples.
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