Could Ancient Virus Genes Help Fight Modern AIDS?
Madison, Wisconsin — Almost 30 years into the AIDS epidemic, scientists have yet to find an effective vaccine against HIV, the virus that destroys the immune system and causes AIDS. HIV is perhaps the most adaptive virus ever seen, not only evading the immune system, but also antiviral medicines. Because this genetic slipperiness also makes the virus a difficult target for vaccine makers, a University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist is embarking on a new effort to sidestep this evasive behavior. Jonah Sacha, an immunologist and assistant scientist in the UW-Madison AIDS Vaccine Research Laboratory at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, thinks he may have identified a stable molecule on the outside of HIV-infected cells. If so, it may be possible to create a vaccine to “teach” the human immune system to destroy these cells and prevent HIV from escaping and reproducing. “It’s analogous to teaching a bull to ignore the ‘red cape’ and go instead for the ‘matador’ portion of the
