September 24, 2010

HIV Drug Isentress Could Fight All Herpes Viruses

The integrase inhibitor Isentress (raltegravir) could lead to the development of an effective treatment against all herpes viruses, including strains that can cause blindness and cancer, according to an announcement by researchers from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) in Barcelona. The researchers’ complete findings were published online August 30 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Miquel Coll, PhD, the senior author of the paper and a researcher at the IRB, has been working for some time with his fellow researchers to help resolve the structural proteins that help herpes viruses reproduce.

The herpes family includes herpes simplex, which can cause oral or genital ulcers; herpes zoster (varicella), which causes chickenpox and shingles; Epstein-Barr virus, which is associated with several types of cancer; cytomegalovirus, which can lead to blindness and potential worsen the course of HIV disease; and Human Herpes Virus-8, which can cause Kaposi’s sarcoma.

One step in the herpes replication process takes place within the nucleus of a target human cell, where the human DNA is contained. The herpes virus is able to hijack the human DNA to make long strands of viral DNA. To form new infectious viruses, however, these long DNA strands must be chopped up and repackaged. The molecular complex responsible for this process is called terminase, and that’s where Coll and his colleagues have been focusing, as this complex is shared by all of the herpes family of viruses.

When the researchers built a 3D model of the terminase, they realized that it strongly resembled the HIV integrase protein of HIV. Given that Isentress binds to this protein, and is an approved drug with a known safety profile, Coll’s group next explored whether Isentress would bind to the herpes terminase, which it did. The next step is to test Isentress in cell cultures and determine its effect on a variety of herpes strains.

“These results have a clear medical impact,” Coll said. “Now we must do the assays on whole infected cells, improve the effect of the drug and validate that it is also effective for other kinds of herpes viruses.”

Search: Herpes, zoster, Epstein-Barr, varicella, cytomegalovirus, CMV, HHV8, Kaposi's sarcoma, Miguel Coll, Isentress, raltegavir, integrase inhibitor,

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Previous Comments:

Anonymous, Indianapolis, 2011-10-02 10:34:41
I have genital herpes. I am a willing participant when you come up with a cure for sure! This has definitely worsened my clinical depression!

Craig Brown, Houston, 2011-07-15 22:34:05
I had shingles in January of this year along with being diagnosed with AIDS with a CD4 of 6. The Shingles cleared up and then in March I started my HIV med Atripla. Brought my viral load from 70,000 to about 50 in a month and cd4 up to 50. However I was hospitalized for low potasium levels. My eye started to have persistent throbbing and stabbing pain. I was never confirmed as to what was going on. The pain lasted for about a week and then went away.Was put on Valcyte but have lost my vision

John, , 2010-12-08 11:59:44
I've been taking raltegravir for three years. My herpes simplex outbreaks, which I've had for over a decade, haven't changed in frequency or intensity. Obviously I'm just one person and not a randomized controlled trial, but I'd be curious to hear what other peoples' experiences are.

brokenhope, bronx, 2010-11-10 23:46:35
you know what i been reading everything this is great but how much can 50 million people with this put their hope up and wait... how much longer i donated about 5,000 dollars to everything claiming to find cures im so young and it ruined my life i have severe back problems because of it and really its taken an impact on me and i have no health insurance so just imagine and every site o we r a step closer that was said 5 years ago more than that, tearing i wish i could cure it

Frank, Walnut Creek, 2010-10-20 16:00:15
I am interested in this research. My finace has herpes and I of course risk being infected. Can you keep me informed about the progress of this development. Thank you.

Hope, , 2010-10-10 22:26:50
This is great news. Especially to the thousands of people with this illness! I believe that it is very harsh to discourage or demolish hope by posting harsh words. So what if it is not a cure. Its a step towards progress on the fight for the cure. Never lose hope because that is all we have. There will be a cure and when there is, you will be stronger than ever before. You are already stronger than the average joe from living with this problem everyday. Never lose hope.

HAART2HAART, WA State, 2010-09-29 21:19:50
I started on this med recently and this is great news if found to be true. When my immune system is up I get horrible outbreaks on my back and my nerves make it difficult and extremely painful to walk or sit. Right now I'm going through IRIS and that's bad enough. Not to mention (as how I was infected) HIV transmission can be reduced from the presence of the herpes virus. I am really hoping for success!

Marcela, miami, 2010-09-28 14:23:42
So what? is that a cure? is that better than acyclovir as treatment? don't think so, if it was so good as antiviral it would cure AIDS, so I don't think it can cure herpes and besides it must be very expensive.

Richard Jefferys, , 2010-09-25 10:20:28
Useful rule of thumb for anything published in PNAS - wait for it to be confirmed by a study in a properly peer-reviewed journal.

aive, , 2010-09-25 10:11:56
It is not i have the simplest form herpes simplex & i take raltegravir & same symptoms and duration of herpes as before taking raltegravir for entire three years!!waist of effort.invest in eradicating HIV with Hebrew university investigators in Tel Aviv.