http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-223...h-immune-control-HIV.html

Scientists discover gene that decides whether to 'switch on' immune system and could control HIV
PUBLISHED: 09:58 EST, 27 November 2012

A newly discovered gene could hold the key to treating and potentially controlling chronic infections such as HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis. The gene, called Arih2, is essential for embryo survival. Now scientists have found it controls the function of the immune system – making critical decisions about whether to switch on the immune response to an infection. It could help in the development of treatments for infections that 'overwhelm' the immune system like HIV as well as conditions that cause chronic inflammation such as rheumatoid arthritis. The gene was discovered in dendritic cells [...]

'During evolution, some organisms have evolved ways of exhausting our immune system to the point where the immune system just switches off, and this is what happens in HIV, hepatitis B and tuberculosis,' he said. 'These organisms counter the immune response – exhausting T cells which are stimulated over and over again by the infection and becoming exhausted or paralysed. 'With this current discovery, what we should be able to do is circumvent these mechanisms and reinvigorate the immune response temporarily to boost the immune system and help clear these infections.' [...]

'Arih2 has a unique structure, which we believe make it an excellent target for a therapeutic drug, one that is unlikely to affect other proteins and cause unwanted side-effects,' Dr Ebert said. [...] 'It is probably one of the few genes and pathways that is very targetable and could lead to a drug very quickly.' [...]

http://www.sciencecodex.com/crucial_step_in_a...ted_for_first_time-103167

Crucial step in AIDS virus maturation simulated for first time
posted on: december 4, 2012 - 5:30am

Barcelona, 04 December 2012. - Bioinformaticians at IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute) and UPF (Pompeu Fabra University) have used molecular simulation techniques to explain a specific step in the maturation of the HIV virions, i.e., how newly formed inert virus particles become infectious, which is essential in understanding how the virus replicates. These results, which have been published in the latest edition of PNAS, could be crucial to the design of future antiretrovirals.

HIV virions mature and become infectious as a result of the action of a protein called HIV protease. This protein acts like a pair of scissors, cutting the long chain of connected proteins that form HIV into individual proteins that will form the infectious structure of new virions. [...]

Using ACEMD a software for molecular simulations and a technology known as GPUGRID.net, Gianni De Fabritiis' group has demonstrated that the first "scissors proteins" can cut themselves out from within the middle of these poly-protein chains. They do this by binding one of their connected ends (the N-terminus) to their own active site and then cutting the chemical bond that connects them to the rest of the chain. This is the initial step of the whole HIV maturation process. If the HIV protease can be stopped during the maturation process, it will prevent viral particles, or virions, from reaching maturity and, therefore, from becoming infectious.

This work was performed using GPUGRID.net, a voluntary distributed computing platform that harnesses the processing power of thousands of NVIDIA GPU accelerators from household computers made available by the public for research purposes. [...]

According to researchers, this discovery in the HIV maturation process provides an alternative approach in the design of future pharmaceutical products based on the use of these new molecular mechanisms. For now, this work provides a greater understanding of a crucial step in the life cycle of HIV, a virus that directly attacks and weakens the human immune system, making it vulnerable to a wide range of infections, and which affects millions of people around the world.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/250808.php

"Article Date: 30 Sep 2012

Commonly Prescribed HIV Drug May Attack Brain Cells Leading To Memory Decline

he way the body metabolizes a commonly prescribed anti-retroviral drug that is used long term by patients infected with HIV may contribute to cognitive impairment by damaging nerve cells, a new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

Nearly 50 percent of people infected with HIV will eventually develop some form of brain damage that, while mild, can affect the ability to drive, work or participate in many daily activities. It has long been assumed that the disease was causing the damage, but Hopkins researchers say the drug efavirenz may play a key role.....

.....

In the case of efavirenz, a minor modification in the drug's structure may be able block its toxic effects but not alter its ability to suppress the virus. Namandje N. Bumpus, Ph.D., one of the study's other authors, has found a way to modify the drug to prevent it from metabolizing into 8-hydroxyefavirenz while maintaining its effectiveness as a tool to suppress the HIV virus.

"Finding and stating a problem is one thing, but it's another to be able to say we have found this problem and here is an easy fix," Haughey says.

Haughey says studies like his serve as a reminder that while people infected with HIV are living longer than they were 20 years ago, there are significant problems associated with the drugs used to treat the infection.

"Some people do seem to have this attitude that HIV is no longer a death sentence," he says. "But even with anti-retroviral treatments, people infected with HIV have shortened lifespans and the chance of cognitive decline is high. It's nothing you should treat lightly."

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/250660.php

"Article Date: 26 Sep 2012

Risk For Esophageal, Stomach Cancers Increased In Patients With AIDS

People with AIDS are at increased risk for developing esophageal and stomach carcinoma as well as non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs), according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

"People diagnosed with AIDS are living longer due to improved therapies. However, they remain at increased risk of developing a number of different cancers," said E. Christina Persson, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute and lead author of this study. "An elevated risk of esophageal and stomach cancers had been observed before, but we were able to look at risk for subtypes of these malignancies." ...

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/250940.php

"Article Date: 03 Oct 2012

Treating Kaposi Sarcoma Using A Sugar-Free Approach

A sugar-loving protein drives the growth of Kaposi sarcoma (KS) tumors, according to a study published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine. Interfering with these sugary interactions inhibited growth of Kaposi sarcomas in mice, hinting at the potential for new treatment strategies in humans.

KS is a cancer that is associated with infection with a herpes virus called HHV-8 and is prevalent in HIV patients. Effective antiretroviral drugs have decreased the incidence of KS, but the cancer eventually progresses in many patients and treatment options are limited..."