Howard Hughes Medical Institute other research news

In the first study of an autologous gene therapy for HIV in humans, researchers performed gene transfer in three patients. Half of the CD4 cells from each patient were enriched with plasmid expression vectors encoding Rev M10, an inhibitory protein of HIV. The other half of the CD4 cells received a mutant and ineffectual Rev protein as a control. The patients' cells also were treated with two antiretroviral drugs and with IL-2 to expand the cells, then reinfused.

RevM10 suppresses HIV replication by competing with the function of normal Rev, which allows transport of certain HIV genetic material within the infected cell, a critical step in viral replication. ...