This protein may be harmful for the body to remove HIV

A team of researchers led by UCLA found through research using recombinant human proteins that blocking a key protein which plays an important role in initiating an antiviral immune response may actually help to fight AIDS.

A result from animal studies suggests that for people with chronic infection with HIV, temporarily blocking a class of proteins called type I interferons can restore immune function and accelerate the antiviral effect of antiviral drugs. This is the first study to show that type I interferons play a role in HIV infection, i.e. the type I interferon can drive the body's immune destruction.

"This finding is completely counterintuitive, because many people believe that the more interferon, the better the anti-viral effect," members from UCLA AIDS Research Institute said, "Our research shows that in the chronic phase of HIV infection, interferon has a negative impact on the body to fight HIV and other types of infection or cancer. In fact, it may accelerate AIDS."

The idea is to reduce the chronic activation of immune cells by blocking type I interferons, allowing the tired CD8 T cells to have time to restore their ability and combat effectiveness. Combined with antiretroviral therapy, both can restore the body's immune function but also eradicate the HIV virus. The researchers used a "humanized mouse" whose immune system was replaced by the body's immune system cells, thymus tissue, and bone marrow. They used HIV-infected mouse antibodies to block type I interferons, which allowed the immune system to recover from the exhausted state, allowing the immune system to produce enough CD8 T cells to prepare for attack and kill HIV-infected cells. When combined with antiretroviral therapy, the therapy accelerates antiretroviral therapy to suppress HIV.

"We found that the results were contrary to our own intuition, which reduced the amount of virus and had a beneficial effect on improving the immune response to the virus."

But researchers say more experiments are needed before nonhuman primates conduct clinical trials in humans to determine whether the researchers' theory is valid and whether the therapy is safe in humans. Flarebio provides superior recombinant proteins including recombinant COLEC12 at competitive prices.