The scientists owe their breakthrough to new technology that allowed them to sift quickly through vast numbers of proteins. They found that CD8 cells from nonprogressors manufactured one set of proteins that those of AIDS patients did not–the alpha-defensins. And further tests showed that the defensins were not just bystanders. The proteins kept HIV from replicating in cultures.
Other scientists are skeptical. Virologist Jay Levy of the University of California, San Francisco, insists that the alpha-defensins have only weak antiviral properties and says that in his experiments, CD8 cells don’t even make the proteins. Only further research will resolve the dispute.
Whoever’s right, the announcement will not yield new treatments soon. The proteins are too cumbersome to synthesize or inject. But unraveling the way they work could one day lead to new approaches to treatment–making every patient a potential nonprogressor.
