A ray of hope for HIV/AIDS sufferers
POSTED March 9, 2010 - 14:52 | POSTED BY Abby Kapoor
Last edited by Harpreet Bhagrath on March 9, 2010 - 18:03
At present, people suffering from HIV/AIDS are treated with highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART), which is a combination of at least three active anti-retroviral medications.
The HAART 'cocktail' suppresses viral replication in the blood. Even though HAART delays the AIDS progression and does add some years to one’s life, it does not result in eradication of the disease.
But a recent study by scientists from Montreal University in Canada, McGill University in Canada and the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute of Florida (VGTI) in the United States may lead to an expansion of the role of the current medicinal drug arsenal used to fight HIV.
Joint study by American and Canadian Scientists
The findings of the combined research, published in the journal Nature Medicine, show how the pivotal role of two molecules, PD-1 and IL-10, can influence the function of CD4/T-helper cells, which can change their capability to fight against HIV.
The lead author of the study, Rafick-Pierre Sekaly, Ph.D., a professor at University of Montreal, said, "Our findings show that the membrane protein PD-1 is up-regulated during HIV infection by the release of bacterial products from the gut and this subsequently increases the production of a cell derived factor, IL-10 that paralyses the immune system."
"Our results suggest that it is important to block both IL-10 and PD-1 interactions to restore the immune response during HIV infection. We believe that immunotherapies that target PD-1 and IL-10 should be part of the arsenal used to restore immune function in HIV-infected subjects,'' Rafick added.
"Our results suggest that it is important to block both IL-10 and PD-1 interactions to restore the immune response during HIV infection,'' he concluded.
Disappointing facts about HIV/AIDS among women
Globally, HIV/AIDS is the number one killer among women who are at reproductive stage, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2009 report, released as ‘Women and Health: Today's Evidence for Tomorrow's Agenda.’
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