Twenty-plus years of research and investigation have led UCLA
laboratories to the newest discovery in the fight against AIDS.
In 1981, the first case of AIDS was documented by UCLA
scientists after a series of similar rare illnesses had occurred at
the UCLA Medical Center.
To date, there are between 800,000 and 900,000 people living
with HIV in the United State, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
Now, two decades later, UCLA research involving over 50 blood
samples from HIV patients shows that adding a gene for a protein
called telomerase halts the premature aging of immune cells that
combat HIV.
The new research ““ published on Nov. 15 in the Journal of
Immunology ““ shows that the addition of the telomerase
protein aids immune cells in fighting against the virus for longer
periods.
Once inserted, the gene may help support a patient’s
immune system and their ability to combat the virus by producing
the new protein.
The work done at UCLA is the first step in developing
telomerase-based treatments for the HIV disease.
Most AIDS researchers either work to create drugs that fight the
virus or find treatments to boost the body’s immune
system.
The work of some scientists at the UCLA AIDS Institute focuses
on the latter and concerns “Killer T-Cells,” which help
to fight the HIV virus.
These findings help the immune system become stronger but will
also go beyond simply suppressing the virus as drugs do, and allow
the immune system to overcome it.
“T-Cells do not get infected by the virus. (They) are part
of the immune system and help the body combat AIDS,” said Dr.
Rita Effros, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the
David Geffen School of Medicine and member of the AIDS
Institute.
Every cell in the body has a tiny cellular clock called a
telomere, and the clock’s time shortens every time the cell
splits. After the time is up, the cell can no longer function.
Because the body must go through so much stress while fighting
the HIV virus, the T-Cells must divide rapidly; consequently, they
die off sooner than in healthy humans. The telomeres of a
middle-aged human may be comparable to that of a 90-year-old,
scientists say.
“Our research has shown that by adding back the gene for
telomerase, we can rejuvenate T-Cells,” Effros said.
If the telomeres don’t get shorter and T-Cells function
better, then the virus has a more difficult time affecting the
body, Effros added.
By looking at strengthening the immune system, Effros and about
half a dozen other scientists have opened a new type of approach to
the treatment of AIDS that might potentially lead to new forms of
immunotherapy.
Currently, scientists at UCLA along with a company called Geron
Corporation are looking at chemicals that the company has produced
which can do the same things as the insertion of genes into the
T-Cells.
The fight against AIDS has been a long, uphill battle, with no
end in sight.
Through December 2000, a total of 774,467 cases of AIDS have
been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
and so far about 58 percent have died.
But with researchers at UCLA and around the world investigating
both preventative and treatment options, the spread of the disease
may decrease.