Scientists Have Discovered A Drug That Blocks AIDS

Scientist at the Gladstone Institutes have
identified the precise chain of molecular
events in the human body that drives the
death of most of the immune system's CD4 T
cells as an HIV infection leads to AIDS.
"Gladstone has showed how the body's own
immune response to HIV causes CD4 T cell
death via a pathway triggering inflammation,
and secondly by identifying the host DNA
sensor that detects the viral DNA and
triggers this death response," said Dr. Robert
F.
Further, they have identified an existing anti-
inflammatory drug that in laboratory tests
blocks the death of these cells — and now are
planning a Phase 2 clinical trial to determine if
this drug or a similar drug can prevent HIV-
infected people from developing AIDS.
Two separate journal articles, published
simultaneously in Nature and Science, detail
the research from the laboratory of Dr.
Warner C. Greene, who directs virology and
immunology research at Gladstone, an
independent biomedical-research nonprofit.
His lab's Science paper reveals how, during an
HIV infection, a protein known as IFI16 senses
fragments of HIV DNA in abortively infected
immune cells. This triggers the activation of
the human enzyme caspase-1 and leads to
pyroptosis, a fiery and highly inflammatory
form of cell death.
As revealed in Nature, this repetitive cycle of
abortive infection, cell death, inflammation
and recruitment of additional CD4 T cells to
the infection "hot zone" ultimately destroys
the immune system and causes AIDS.
Siliciano, a professor of medicine at Johns
Hopkins University, and a Howard Hughes
Medical Institute investigator. "This one-two
punch of discoveries underscores the critical
value of basic science — by uncovering the
major cause of CD4 T cell depletion in AIDS,
Dr. Greene's lab has been able to identify a
potential new therapy for blocking the
disease's progression and improving on current
antiretroviral medications."