Researchers from the Instituto de Investigaciones Químicas (CSIC – University of Seville), led by Dr. Francisco Javier Rojo*, in collaboration with other research groups from the University of Milan and the Institute of Structural Biology in Grenoble, have developed a molecule with high antiviral activity against HIV in cell models. The results of this research have been protected by a European patent filed in July 2009 (Ref: EP09380127) and have been published in part recently in the journal ACS Chemical Biology (DOI: 10.1021/cb900216e).
In 2000, Dutch and American researchers published in the prestigious journal Cell a key discovery in the HIV infection process. A receptor called DC-SIGN, present on the dendritic cells of the immune system, allows the AIDS virus to enter through the mucous membranes. This receptor recognises the sugars present on the gp120 glycoprotein on the surface of HIV, and this recognition is the first step in the process of entry and infection.
Dr Rojo’s group began work in 2002 on a project aimed at developing molecules capable of interacting with this receptor and thus blocking its interaction with HIV.After years of research and thanks to fruitful national and international collaborations with other groups, a molecule has been prepared that is a mimic of a sugar whose multivalent presentation (several copies of this molecule on a synthetic support) has been able to inhibit the infection of T cells, obtained from healthy donors, with great effectiveness at micromolar concentrations.
This high antiviral activity is independent of the HIV viral strain, which hints at its potential application.
Animal experiments are currently being designed to evaluate the activity of these molecules in vivo, as well as toxicity studies, which are a prerequisite for a clinical study. Although this receptor has not yet been validated as a therapeutic target, these results are very promising and point to a possible new avenue in the fight against HIV.