Scientists from the School of Medicine of the University of Massachusetts (USA), the University of Trento (Italy) and the University of Geneva (Switzerland) have developed two investigations in which they present a new antiretroviral strategy for the virus of the human immunodeficiency (HIV), which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Both studies have been published in the journal Nature .
Despite the fact that research on HIV has not ceased for the last 30 years, the complexity of this virus hampers both its understanding and its elimination. Now, the place that the Nef protein occupies during infection appears to have opened an exit window. Until now we knew that with this protein, the HIV virus is weaker and has less power to infect cells. New research has gone one step further, revealing that the SERINC3 and SERINC5 proteins are exactly responsible for this loss of HIV infectivity .
“ The magnitude of the effect that these proteins have on infectivity is incredible. SERINC proteins reduce the infectivity of HIV-1 virions by more than 100 times ”, clarifies Jeremy Luban, professor of molecular medicine at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine and co-author of the study.
The studies began with two different approaches to reach the same conclusion: that when the Nef protein is present in the body, protein synthesis is inhibited; conversely, without the Nef protein, the proteins block HIV infection. According to experts, this is due to an innate antiviral immunity mechanism in humans .
“SERINC5 is not the first antiretroviral factor discovered. We have identified a new element, but more importantly, we deciphered a mechanism that works very differently from the others . Furthermore, unlike most previously discovered antiretroviral factors, which are activated by interferon (a substance produced by certain cells of the immune system in response to a pathogen), SERINC5 is continuously overexpressed in all cells of our immune system ” , explains Federico Santoni, co-author of the study.
