Scientists discover human substance that fights AIDS virus
Ulm, Germany - Scientists who checked 1 million natural substances in human blood have tracked down a new one that fights HIV, opening up hope for patients whose AIDS is resistant to existing drugs.
The team at Ulm University Hospital in Germany published their
findings Thursday in the US journal Cell.
They named the substance virip, standing for virus inhibitory peptide. It prevents HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) from attaching itself to cells of the human body before it penetrates them.
The researchers at Ulm in southern Germany, led by Frank Kirchhoff and Jan Muench, said they had also established that purposeful alterations in the peptide could make it even more powerful against HIV.
"We hope to begin studies on human subjects in the course of this year," said Wolf-Georg Forssmann, a further author of the article who has devised a drug based on the discovery for IPF Pharmaceuticals, a company in Hanover, Germany.
He said tests on animals, which must be performed before tests on human patients, were largely complete.
The team studied more than 1 million substances obtained from the blood of dialysis patients.
Virip, which is part of an already well-known blood protein, interferes with the functioning of gp41, a surface protein on HIV-1 virus. Laboratory tests showed the AIDS virus was not yet resistant to virip.
Enfuvirtid, an existing anti-AIDS drug, also interferes with gp41. It gained European certification in 2003 under the name Fuzeon. The Ulm team said virip attacks gp41 at a different place.
If clinical tests prove successful, AIDS doctors will gain a new weapon against HIV varieties that have mutated to evade existing drugs.
Currently there are about 20 anti-AIDS drugs on the market. None can heal AIDS but they can brake its impact.
The article said the team also included scientists in New York and in the German cities of Luebeck, Erlangen and Hamburg. Forssmann and two colleageus disclosed with the publication that they have a financial interest in the study.
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