>From: "Vedprakash Sharma" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Reply-To: Vedprakash Sharma
><[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,accessindia@accessindia.org.in
>To: <accessindia@accessindia.org.in>
>Subject: Re: [AI] Blood may hold clue to new HIV drug: researchers
>Date: Sat, 21 Apr 2007 10:00:03 +0530
>
>Please avoid such messages.
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Renuka Warriar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: <accessindia@accessindia.org.in>
>Sent: Friday, April 20, 2007 9:40 PM
>Subject: [AI] Blood may hold clue to new HIV drug: researchers
>
>
> > The Hindu News Update Service
> >
> > News Update Service
> > Friday, April 20, 2007 : 1445 Hrs
> >
> > Sci. & Tech.
> > Blood may hold clue to new HIV drug: researchers
> >
> > New York, April 20. (PTI): A natural component of human blood has been
> > found to block the HIV virus from infecting cells, raising hopes that a
> > novel class
> > of drugs could be developed to fight the virus.
> >
> > There is also evidence that HIV doesn't easily develop resistance to the
> > new compound, which is a major problem with many current HIV treatments,
> > researchers
> > said.
> >
> > The molecule, known as VIRIP (virus-inhibitory peptide), binds to a
>spiky
> > protein on the surface of the HIV virus called gp41. HIV normally uses
> > this protein
> > to make the first contact with and latch onto a human cell, after which
>it
> > would infect it. But the intervention of VIRIP stops that contact from
> > happening,
> > it explained.
> >
> > The molecule was found by Frank Kirchhoff of the University of Ulm in
> > Germany and his colleagues, who report their work in the journal Cell.
> >
> > They screened a massive library of compounds isolated from 10,000 litres
> > of filtered human blood, looking for substances that could naturally
> > inhibit HIV.
> > Human blood has yielded some HIV-inhibiting substances before, the
>report
> > said.
> >
> > Pinpointing exactly which compounds have an effect is difficult, lots of
> > blood is needed to be able to single out and test enough of each
>compound
> > found.
> > Kirchhoff's team had access to a large library of blood compounds at IPF
> > PharmaCeuticals, a pharmaceutical company in Germany keen to develop the
> > work.
> >
> > Once they had isolated the protein, Nature magazine said, the team set
> > about adjusting it to explore which changes to its structure might alter
> > its function,
> > by fiddling with the amino acids in its 20-amino-acid chain.
> >
> > In one instance, the researchers found that adding just one specific
> > amino-acid building block rendered the protein useless in protecting
> > against HIV. "We
> > were surprised it was so specific," says Kirchhoff adding "it is really
> > striking."
> >
> > Of the mass number of alterations the team tested, they found one
>instance
> > in which altering just three specific amino acids made the compound 100
> > times
> > more effective at inhibiting HIV a potent drug candidate.
> >
> > The group, the report says, has already tested this modified version in
> > animal models, including rats, dogs and monkeys, to make sure it is not
> > toxic. The
> > unpublished results look promising, Kirchhoff says, and the molecule
>could
> > be ready for clinical trials by the end of this year.
> >
> > Another bonus is that HIV should not be able to develop resistance to
> > VIRIP as easily as it can with other drug compounds.
> >
> > Half of the patients given a drug called T20, for example, which also
>acts
> > to prevent HIV entering the cell, develop resistance to it, Neelanjana
> > Ray, a
> > virologist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, is quoted
>as
> > saying.
> >
> > This is because HIV has proven to be very adaptable; many of its surface
> > proteins constantly change. But VIRIP picks on a fairly stable surface
> > protein,
> > which does not change so much - it works in conjunction with another
> > protein, called gp120, which was recently discovered to be conserved
>over
> > time.
> >
> > This means that drug using it should remain effective. "The really good
> > thing is that it targets a very conserved area," says Ray adding "It
>does
> > seem to
> > be a promising candidate."
> >
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> >
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I think everyone on this list has decided to take on the role of a
moderator. Why cant we stop being nasty and bitchy.
Nafisa
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