PLoS Pathog: The multiple sclerosis drug Fingommod blocks hiv infection and transmission in human immune cells.

AUGUST 22, 2020 /--- In a new study, Rachel Resop, a postdoctoral researcher at George Washington University in the United States, and Alberto Bosque, an assistant professor, and colleagues found that Fingolimod (FTY720), an immunomodulative drug approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, can block the infection and transmission of HIV in human immune cells.
that while future studies are needed in animals and human bodies, these preliminary findings suggest that the compound could be a promising new drug for HIV treatment and defense.
study was recently published in the journal PLoS Pathogens under the title "Fingolimod reseds multiple stages of the HIV-1 life cycle".
picture source: NIAID.
nearly 40 million people worldwide are currently infected with HIV.
because the virus can establish latent states by integrating its genome into the genomes of host cells, and because it is likely to be reactivated at some point in the future, the treatment of this viral infection is lifelong.
by establishing an incubation period, HIV can evade the elimination of host defense mechanisms and medication.
Currently, HIV infection can be controlled by taking antiretroviral drugs (ART), but these drugs do not specifically target latent infections and may have side effects, so their role in stopping the spread of the virus between humans is limited.
this, it is critical to find new strategies to target HIV infection and latent.
Bosque and his colleagues studied an alternative strategy to fight HIV infection: targeting the acetaminophen-1-phosphoric acid (S1P) subject--- an immune system group involved in the progression of infection.
, they focused on fingomod--- a well- resistant drug that blocks the effects of S1P mediators and was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat multiple sclerosis.
found that Fingomod prevented HIV infection with human immune cells called CD4-T cells by blocking multiple steps in the HIV life cycle.
, for example, reduces the density of CD4--- a protein found on the surface of T cells--- which inhibits the binding and fusion of the virus.
the drug blocks the spread of HIV between cells, reducing detectable latent viruses.
According to their introduction, there have been no previous reports of the role of the S1P pathway in the hiv infection establishment process, and no one has previously reported the potential to regulate this pathway to change the infection process or prevent the establishment of latent virus libraries in CD4-T cells, so the use of the Fingomod target S1P pathway may be a new strategy to inhibit HIV replication and reduce latent virus libraries.
authors note, "These results suggest that Fingomod is worth further study as an exciting new HIV treatment."
" (bioon.com) Reference: 1. Rachel S. Resop et al. Fingolimod reseds multiple stages of the HIV-1 life cycle. PLoS Pathogens, 2020, doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1008679.2.Multiple sclerosis drug blocks HIV infection and transmission in human immune cells.