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Researchers find HIV resistance in monkeys
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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

February 26, 2004

Scientists say they've discovered how some monkeys resist the AIDS virus, a
finding that might lead someday to a treatment that blocks HIV in people.

Researchers found that once HIV enters rhesus macaques monkey cells, it
encounters a protein that stifles its attempts to replicate. That stops the
virus from spreading in the animal.

The protein, TRIM5-alpha, was identified in rhesus macaques by a team of Harvard
researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. It's not clear
exactly how the protein acts against HIV, said Dr. Joseph Sodroski, who led the
Harvard study published today in the journal Nature.

Humans have a version of TRIM5-alpha, but it's not as effective as the monkey
version in countering HIV. However, researchers may be able to design a drug
that makes it work better, Sodroski said.

"We expect that now that we've identified this protein factor, it is likely
we'll find ways to manipulate it and increase its potency," Sodroski said, "and
we hope to stimulate our own natural resistance to HIV by doing so." The
mechanism may even work against other viruses, he said.

"What we're really uncovering is the first example of a natural system of
defense that may be operating against other viruses besides HIV," Sodroski said.
"We're looking at 'example one' here, and I highly doubt it will be the only
example in nature." Normally, HIV enters a cell and hijacks its "factory" for
making proteins. It orders new copies of HIV, which then infect other cells.

The monkey protein blocks this process, apparently by interfering with HIV's
attempts to remove the coating that surrounds its genetic material.

Copyright (c) 2004, Newsday, Inc.

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