Treatment of Human Viral Infections (Proteosome Inhibitors)
Description of Invention:
This application describes the methods for treating or preventing an HIV infection by the administration of proteosome inhibitors and their derivatives. It has been known that HIV, once it infects a cell, integrates into the cellular genome and can (1) rapidly undergo lytic infection, or (2) lay dormant for a period of time (latent infection). The existence of latent infected cells poses a great challenge to HIV therapy because (1) there are no good existing means that can separate the latent infected cells from the uninfected cells; (2) even when antiretroviral drugs are able to completely suppress detectable HIV replication, these latent infected cells will remain and HIV can subsequently complete the viral replication cycle to produce more virus. Since proteosome inhibitors can activate lytic replication from latent infected cells, proteosome inhibitors may lead to therapies in which proteosome inhibitors are given together with highly active antiretroviral therapy in an effort to decrease or eliminate the reservoir of latent infected cells with hope of perhaps eventually curing a patient of HIV infection.
Inventors:
Drs. Steven Zeichner and Vyjayanthi Krishnan (NCI)
For Additional Information Please Contact: Sally Hu PhD MBA
NIH Office of Technology Transfer
6011 Executive Blvd, Suite 325
Rockville, MD 20852-3804
Phone: (301) 435-5606
Email: hus@mail.nih.gov
Fax: (301) 402-0220
