HIV suppressed by novel therapy in first-ever animal model
| Date: August 15, 2008 |
A research team including Jackson Laboratory Professor Leonard Shultz, Ph.D., has successfully suppressed HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, in the world's first animal model to mirror the progression of HIV in humans. The findings suggest a promising new approach to treating or even preventing HIV infection.
Mice cannot normally be infected with HIV. But Shultz and Dr. Dale Greiner of the University of Massachusetts developed a "humanized" mouse model that carries human immune cells infected with the virus. Using this mouse model, researchers at Harvard Medical School developed a novel method to deliver small molecules called siRNAs into T cells, which are important components of the immune system.
In findings published online Aug. 7 in the journal Cell, the researchers reported that the siRNAs knocked down two key viral genes as well as a gene in the human T cells, effectively preventing the infection from spreading in the mice.
This study demonstrates that siRNAs can control the spread of HIV among human cells in an animal model. Although other labs must verify the findings in additional animal models before attempting clinical trials in humans, siRNAs may eventually supplement or replace the harsh drug cocktails currently prescribed to patients with HIV, reducing the side effects of treatment.
The lead investigators in the research are Dr. Premlata Shankar, now a professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso, and Dr. Sang-Kyung Lee, an assistant professor in Hanyang University in Korea. Both conducted this research while working at the Harvard Medical School-affiliated Immune Disease Institute.
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