New York: In a major breakthrough, new research has identified how HIV infection causes mass suicide of immune cells and how an existing anti-inflammatory drug can block cellular self-destruction.
Further, they have identified an existing anti-inflammatory drug that in laboratory tests blocks the death of these cells -- and now are planning a Phase II clinical trial to determine if this drug or a similar drug can prevent HIV-infected people from developing AIDS and related conditions.
Scientists at the Gladstone Institute figured out how, during an HIV infection, a protein known as IFI16, senses fragments of HIV DNA in abortively infected immune cells.
This triggers the activation of the human enzyme caspase-1 and leads to pyroptosis, a fiery and highly inflammatory form of cell death. This mass death of immune cells causes AIDS.
In lab tests, the scientists found that an existing anti-inflammatory inhibits caspase-1, thereby preventing pyroptosis and breaking the cycle of cell death and inflammation.
“This discovery ables us to identify a potential new therapy for blocking the disease's progression and improving on current antiretroviral medications for HIV-infected people,” said Robert F. Siliciano, professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University
