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HomeHIV ResearchResearchers figure out enzyme’s HIV fighting activity

Researchers figure out enzyme’s HIV fighting activity

[b]Johns Hopkins[/b] biochemists have figured out what is needed to activate and sustain the virus-fighting activity of an enzyme found in CD4+ T cells, the human immune cells infected by HIV. According to a [s]News-Medical[/s] report, they say the discovery could launch a more effective strategy for preventing the spread of HIV in the body with drugs targeting this enzyme. The researchers say that while inhibiting SAMHD1 would leave patients without a tool for fighting viruses, it may prevent the killing of the immune cells required to combat HIV. ‘Now that we understand how activation of SAMHD1 works, we have developed a small molecule that inhibits its subunit assembly. This is a nice starting place for further inhibitor design,’ says Prof James Stivers.

[link url=http://www.news-medical.net/news/20140502/Johns-Hopkins-biochemists-figure-out-HIV-fighting-activity-of-enzyme.aspx?page=2]Full News-Medical report[/link]
[link url=http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/04/17/1401706111.abstract?sid=6442a08c-757a-4600-9d5c-a10678a9375a]PNAS abstract[/link]

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