Gene therapy and new drugs hold HIV promise
[SYDNEY] A human trial of gene therapy to treat HIV infection is underway and new anti-HIV drugs are yielding promising results, say scientists at an international HIV conference in Sydney, Australia.
Progress in anti-HIV strategies was reviewed in a plenary session at the conference today (24 July).
'Some of these agents will be useful to the developing world, that is witnessing emergence of drug resistance and urgently needs new treatment strategies,' says Joseph Eron, professor of medicine at the US-based University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
'We need to expand the treatment regimen to make it less complicated and less toxic, and to tackle increasing drug resistance.'
A team headed by John Rossi, professor of molecular biology at the US-based Beckman Research Institute, is testing gene therapy, where genes are injected into cells or tissue to treat disease.
They are investigating whether genetically modified stem cells — the body's master cells that can grow into any kind of cell — can be used to treat AIDS patients.
Rossi's team built a unique anti-HIV agent by stitching together three short gene sequences. Two sequences target the HIV virus directly by interfering with its genetic material, while the third blocks the entry of the virus into a cell.
This agent is carried into the stem cells by a 'vehicle' — HIV itself made harmless by deactivating most of its genes.
The trial began in June 2007 on an AIDS patient in the United States (US) and will be tested initially on five other patients.
Rossi told SciDev.Net, 'This triple construct is several times more powerful than azidothymidine, one of the widely used anti-HIV drugs,' in laboratory tests.
Elsewhere, six new anti-HIV drugs are in advanced stages of testing, with two waiting for approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
Two are 'integrase inhibitors' that block the HIV genetic material from attaching to the host cell's DNA. Two others block the entry of the virus into the host cell and the third group prevents the virus from producing copies of itself.
While saying it is up to the individual drug firms to fix their price, Eron added, 'I urge the World Health Organization, the Joint United Nations Project on HIV/AIDS and the International AIDS Society to make these new drugs available not just in the US and Europe, but also in developing countries.'
'The stronger the voice, the better off we are.'
基因疗法和新药带来治疗艾滋病的新希望
[悉尼]科学家在悉尼召开的国际艾滋病学会艾滋病发病机理和防治大会上称，基因疗法治疗艾滋病病毒感染的人体临床实验正在进行中，而一些新型抗艾滋病病毒药物正在展现出有前途的结果。
7月24日，在该会议的全会上回顾了抗艾滋病病毒策略的进展。
美国北卡罗来纳大学医学院的医学教授Joseph Eron说：“其中一些制剂将对发展中国家有用。发展中国家的艾滋病病毒耐药性正在出现，它们急需新的治疗策略。”
他说：“我们需要扩展治疗方案，让它更简单、更低毒，能更好地应对不断增加的耐药性。”
美国Beckman研究所的分子生物学教授John Rossi领导的一个研究组正在试验基因疗法。在该疗法中，基因被注入到了细胞或组织中，用于治疗艾滋病。
他们正在研究转基因干细胞是否可以用于治疗艾滋病患者。干细胞是人体的主干细胞，可以分化生长成任何类型的细胞。
Rossi的研究组通过把三个短基因序列连接在一起，制造出了一种独特的抗艾滋病病毒制剂。其中两个基因通过干扰艾滋病病毒的遗传物质，直接对付病毒，而第三种基因可以阻止病毒进入细胞。
科学家用一种“载体”把这种制剂引入了干细胞中。这种载体是艾滋病病毒本身，但是病毒的绝大多数基因都已经失去了活性。
这种制剂的试验于2007年6月在美国的一名病人身上开始，并且将在另外5名患者中进行试验。
Rossi告诉本网站说，在实验室测试中，“这种三重结构表现出的威力是齐多夫定的数倍。后者是最广泛应用的抗艾滋病病毒药物之一”。
在其他地方还有6种抗艾滋病病毒药物处于试验的后期阶段，有两种正等待美国食品药品监督管理局的批准。
其中两种药物是“整合酶抑制剂”，它可以阻止艾滋病病毒的遗传物质附加到宿主细胞的DNA中。另外两种药物阻止病毒进入宿主细胞，还有两种药物阻止细胞的自我复制。
虽然Eron指出这些药物的定价取决于制药公司，他还说：“我敦促世界卫生组织、联合国艾滋病规划署和国际艾滋病协会不仅让欧美可以获得这些新药，也让发展中国家可以获得它们。 ”
“这种声音越强，我们的处境就越好。”
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