Published: March 16, 2010
New Research by VGTI Florida Science Director Demonstrates How HIV Disables the Immune System
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - New research conducted by the scientific director for VGTI Florida and
his colleagues at the University of Montreal, in collaboration with
scientists from the NIH and the McGill University Hospital center, may
soon lead to an expansion of the drug arsenal used to fight HIV. The
research sheds new light on how HIV gradually weakens the body's immune
system and highlights the need for new research into therapies that will
target the chain of events that cause the progression of the disease.
The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, describes
the pivotal role of two molecules, PD-1 and IL-10, in impairing the
function of disease-fighting T-cells known as CD4 T-cells - a phenomenon
that weakens the body's immune system.
Specifically, the researchers found that when HIV invades the body,
bacterial products are released from the gut and white blood cells
respond by releasing a protein on the surface of the cell called PD-1.
Heightened levels of PD-1 lead to the activation of a gene that produces
another protein called IL-10. Both of these proteins (PD-1 and IL-10)
are known to appear at increased levels during HIV infection.
"We are the first to show that these two molecules work together to shut
down the function of CD4 T-cells in HIV patients. This in turn, may lead
to paralysis of the immune system and an accelerated disease
progression," said Dr. Rafick-Pierre Sekaly, scientific director of VGTI
Florida, a professor at the University of Montreal and researcher at the
Research Center of the University of Montreal Hospital Center.
"Our results suggest that it is important to block both IL-10 and PD-1
interactions to restore the immune response during HIV infection," said
Dr. Sekaly. "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."
About the study:
The article "PD-1 Induced IL-10 Production by Monocytes Impairs CD4
T-Cell Activation during HIV Infection," published in Nature,
was authored by Elias A. Said, Franck P. Dupuy, Lydie Trautmann, Yuwei
Zhang, Yu Shi, Mohamed El-Far, Brenna J. Hill, Alessandra Noto,
Petronela Ancuta, Yoav Peretz, Simone G. Fonseca, Julien Van
Grevenynghe, Mohamed R. Boulassel, Julie Bruneau, Naglaa H. Shoukry,
Jean-Pierre Routy, Daniel C. Douek, Elias K. Haddad, and Rafick P.
Sekaly.
About VGTI Florida:
VGTI Florida is the Florida-funded expansion of Oregon Health & Science
University's highly successful Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute.
Research at the facility will focus on vaccine development with a
special focus on vaccines and therapeutics that protect the aging
population, which is the most vulnerable to disease.
For VGTI Florida
Ryan Banfill, 850-222-1996
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