The attachment of the HIV-1 virus to T cells in the human body may be preventable, according to researchers at the University of Massachusetts, and it’s because of an unlikely source.
According to a recent study done by a research team on campus, the use of a certain protein found in deer tick saliva could be the critical step toward curing the virus that potentially leads to AIDS, and in a number of cases, death.
The study showed that the protein may also be an effective treatment for diseases such as asthma and multiple sclerosis caused by an overactive immune system, and could also be useful in containing the immune system to prevent the rejection of transplanted organs.
The research team, including Juan Anguita, Ph.D., assistant professor of veterinary and animal sciences, published its results in this month’s edition of “Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications.”
The research team also includes Ignacio Juncandella, Tonya Bates and Elias Olivera, all of veterinary and animal sciences.
“Deer ticks, which are carriers of Lyme disease, produce a protein that can interfere with the initial attachment of the HIV-1 virus, which could lead to new treatments that stop the infection process before it begins,” said Anguita.
The specific protein found in deer tick saliva, Salp15, would work by stopping T cells, or white blood cells, from activating by attaching to a specific site on their surface called the CD4 receptor. The HIV-1 virus weakens the human immune system when it targets T cells from the body’s strongest defense system in fighting infections, but Salp15 may prevent this step from happening, thus preventing the virus from infecting at all.
“Salp15 binds to proteins in the CD4 receptor that are furthest from the cell membrane in both mouse and human cells,” said Anguita.
Anguita and Juncandella were part of a different study, with the Vermont Lung Center and the University of Vermont, that proved Salp15 slowed down the development of asthma in mice. The team produced asthma in a group of mice that also received Salp15 and compared them to a control group. The results that were published in the June 2007 issue of “The Journal of Immunology” concluded that the mice that received Salp15 had airways that were less reactive, and showed lower levels of several biochemical markers that indicated a T cell response.
Because the action of Salp15 is so specific, Anguita believes that it will be used as a treatment for HIV-1, transplant rejection and autoimmune diseases.
“HIV-1 and transplant patients are on powerful medications for life, and most of these have secondary effects like nerve damage and liver problems,” he said. “This makes the development of new treatments an important area of research.”
“Our current efforts are aimed at validating these results with real cells and real viruses, but before we do that, I need to secure some funding,” said Anguita.
However, he added, “this is preliminary and it can be developed into something more useful, such as a vaccine.”
Holly Seabury can be reached at [email protected].
