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Australians stumble across HIV therapy
AUSTRALIAN scientists have stumbled upon a simple way to dramatically stimulate immunity to deadly viruses such as HIV, in what's considered a major discovery in the fight against AIDS.The researchers were initially so taken aback by their chance find, they repeated the study several times before they could convince themselves it worked. Associate Professor Stephen Kent, of the University of Melbourne department of microbiology and immunology, said the researchers had set out to devise a test to judge how well an animal's immune system could fight HIV. They extracted blood from vaccinated laboratory animals, then coated the cells with HIV peptide markers — which tell the immune system a cell is infected by the virus. When they injected the peptide-coated blood back into the animals — to create the illusion the cells were infected by HIV even though they weren't — they found the cells triggered a huge immune response. "When we analysed HIV-specific immunity in the weeks following ... a marked enhancement of virus-specific immunity was induced," Professor Kent said. "So the test we were trying to devise was actually a vaccine in itself which was totally unexpected." The researchers have successfully tested the discovery in both mice and monkeys. They hope to begin human trials in Sydney and Melbourne within two years. The therapy would involve injections of the patient's own blood after it is treated with peptides found on the surface of cells infected by the virus. "What we're looking at ... is a therapy that boosts people's immune systems against the virus," Professor Kent said. "HIV ... is difficult to get rid of completely but if it's kept at bay by some sort of immune therapy it may not officially be cured but if that goes on for the person's life then it won't ever cause them any trouble. Professor Kent said the therapy had even proved effective against drug-resistant forms of the disease. The researchers have named the therapy — Overlapping Peptide Autologous Cells (OPAL) — in line with its Australian origins. Their study — a collaboration with the Australian National University's John Curtin School of Medical Research — has been published in the latest international Journal of Virology. The study has been awarded National Health and Medical Research Council funding of almost $500,000 to refine the technique so that it can be studied in humans. Professor Kent said the therapy had also shown promise as a treatment for other chronic infection such as Hepatitis C. Posted by: trailing wife 2005-03-01 |
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