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AP Science NOVEMBER 12, 02:32 EST
RECENT STORIESWASHINGTON (AP) — Almost from the moment it invades the body, the virus that causes AIDS goes on the defensive, quickly infecting cells that help it dodge killing drugs and the hunter cells of the immune system.In a study published today in the journal Science, researchers report that HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is able to establish a silent, chronic infection by moving into inactive white blood cells, called resting T-cells.
Earlier studies have shown that HIV establishes a reservoir of infection, but the new research demonstrates just how quickly the killer virus sets up its defenses.
``These chronically infected cells are important because they allow the virus to persist below the radar screen of the immune system, particularly at the time of the transmission,'' said Dr. Ashley T. Haase, an HIV researcher at the University of Minnesota and the senior author of the study.
Haase said the study shows that a short time after the sexual transmission of the AIDS virus, there is an infection in the resting T-cells, a hiding place that protects the virus from drugs.
The finding is contrary to the belief that HIV first infects two other targets, macrophages and dendritic cells, and then spreads to active T-cells. Instead, said Haase, the virus in its initial infection moves in about equal proportions into both the resting and the active T-cells.
Dr. Tony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, said the Haase study ``was a nice piece of work'' that gives important new insight into the early stages of HIV infection. By quickly infecting the resting T-cells, said Fauci, the virus ``gives itself some insurance of survival.'' A virus in resting T-cells is a much more difficult target for both the immune system and for anti-viral drugs, he said.
Fauci said the finding also is ``bad news for vaccines'' because it makes it more difficult to inoculate the body against HIV infection. In the study, Haase and his colleagues first studied the step-by-step progress of AIDS virus infection in monkeys. The animals were vaginally infected with SIV, the simian form of HIV. Researchers then took specimens to trace the disease's progress.
They found that just three days after infection the virus was in both activated and resting T-cells. In the following days, it spread faster and faster into the resting T-cells.
Haase said his group then looked at specimens from patients recently infected with HIV and found a similar pattern. The virus was present about equally in both resting and activated T-cells, he said.
The viruses in the resting T-cells reproduce at a very low level, Haase said. This makes the cells less obvious to the immune system. It also creates a powerful defense against anti-virals because these drugs attack HIV only when the virus is actively reproducing.
The finding suggests that current drugs never will completely eradicate the virus, he said.
Haase said it is believed that the resting T-cells can persist in the body for years, perhaps decades. This means that the HIV in these cells would remain a threat even though the drugs reduce virus in the blood stream to an undetectable level.
OTHER ACTIVE LINKS:
National Centers for Disease Control
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
11th International Conference on AIDS and STDS in Africa
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not good news for those seeking a cure during their lifetime.
A sad bump and a drip!
This is a new take on HIV, a very clever virus.
Listeria does a similar trick in monocytes - a little protection from the pasteurization process.
> not good news for those seeking a cure during their lifetime.
No, it's bad news for the drugs presently available, but it gives researchers a specific target for developing new drugs. If they know where the viruses are hiding, there's always a chance they can find a magic bullet.
I think the best that HIV infected individuals and those who care for or about them can hope for is control of the virus such that a nearly normal lifespan will result. HIV will then become much like diabetes- controllable but not curable.
In a country like ours where access to good healthcare is commonplace, this can happen. In Africa, it's a whole different story.
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