Yesterday, I ran across an acticle claiming that they'd isolated a [substance] in certain primates that makes them immune from HIV; and suggested that if humans could be made to create the [substance] again, we'd have solved the problem. And today, I ran across this. These are tidbits that hit the news - so perhaps sharing them here will allow us to get a glimpse at the current state of the research; while having a small chance of inpiring the HIV staff with a new possibility. Perhaps others will share what they run across while reading the news..

Montreal Researchers Make Strategic Breakthrough In Controlling AIDS Virus

A team of researchers from the Université de Montréal and the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) have announced an important breakthrough in fighting the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). For the first time, scientists have identified a defect in the immune response to HIV and found a way to correct the flaw.

A T-cell infected with HIV is covered with virus particles. (Image courtesy of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

Dr. Rafick-Pierre Sékaly, an eminent researcher in cell biology, immunology, and virology, has confirmed the identification of a new therapeutic target (the PD-1 protein) that restores the function of the T cells whose role is to eliminate cells infected with the virus. This constitutes a major breakthrough, opening new prospects for the development of therapeutic strategies for controlling HIV infection. The research findings appear in today's issue of the journal Nature Medicine.

click here to read whole article.

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I read similar here
http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2006/08/the_one_that_got_away.php

According to research published in the June 2006 issue of the Journal of Immunology, monkeys and lower primates such as the Rhesus macaque produce a type of θ-defensin—an anti-bacterial protein—called retrocyclin, which the HIV-1 virus resists weakly.

While we long ago lost the ability to produce this protein on our own, the University of Central Florida research team behind this finding has received funding to use it to develop a topical microbicide that could prevent transmission of HIV during intercourse.

"While it is speculative to assert that the loss of retrocyclin might have contributed to humans' susceptibility to HIV, the use of retrocyclins as topical preventatives might help 'restore' humans' ability to prevent HIV transmission," said Alexander Cole, study author and microbiology professor at UCF's Burnett College of Biomedical Sciences, via e-mail.

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Team mauisun.org

inresting;)
thnks for article

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