Researchers discover protein's ability to inhibit HIV release

published on August 25, 2014 in Medical Press

A family of proteins that promotes virus entry into cells also has the ability to block the release of HIV and other viruses, University of Missouri researchers have found.

"This is a surprising finding that provides new insights into our understanding of not only HIV infection, but also that of Ebola and other viruses," said Shan-Lu Liu, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the MU School of Medicine's Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology.

The study was recently published in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Liu, the corresponding author of the study, is also an investigator with the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center at MU.

According to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one million Americans currently are living with HIV infection, which can cause AIDS. AIDS, which stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is a condition characterized by progressive failure of the immune system. It is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1).

When HIV-1 or any virus infects a cell, it replicates and spreads to other cells. One type of cellular protein—T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain, or TIM-1—has previously been shown to promote entry of some highly pathogenic viruses into host cells. Now, the MU researchers have found that the same protein possesses a unique ability to block the release of HIV-1 and Ebola virus.

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