Tumor suppressor blocks viral growth in natural HIV controllers
Monday, March 14, 2011 - 12:02
in Health & Medicine
Elevated levels of p21, a protein best known as a cancer fighter, may be involved in the ability of a few individuals to control HIV infection with their immune system alone. In a paper in the April edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Infectious Disease Division and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard report that CD4 T cells from HIV controllers, while capable of being infected, can effectively suppress key aspects of the viral life cycle, an ability that may be associated with increased expression of the p21 protein. Preliminary results of this study were presented at the October 2010 Infectious Diseases Society of America meeting.