Protein Hunts Down HIV: Ottawa Researchers Say New Approach Can Reduce Virus to Undetectable Levels

Ottawa researchers at the Ottawa Hospital announced this week that a naturally occurring protein can reduce the level of HIV to undetectable levels in dormant cells that hide from other drugs. The team tested a molecule developed by Seattle-based Immunex Corporation called TRAIL, or tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand. This is a protein produced by the body's immune cells.

The study, conducted with the blood of seven HIV-infected patients, will be published today in the journal Virology ("Induction of Cell Death in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Macrophages and Resting Memory CD4 T Cells by TRAIL/Apo2L," November 2001, p. 11128-11136, Vol. 75, No. 22). In the study, TRAIL eliminated HIV in four of the seven cases and left healthy cells intact. "It appears to have no negative effects on normal cells, but selective killing of the reservoir of HIV," said one of the investigators, Dr. Andrew Badley.

The research is still in its earliest stages, but Badley maintains that this therapy is able to eradicate HIV from the test tube. "That's the big punch of this," he said. "I'm optimistic that within 12 to 24 months we may be able to take it to human trials," adding that the molecule appears safe in animal studies for treating cancer. While a cure "is theoretical, I'd love to see it happen, but I don't want to create false hopes," Badley cautioned.

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