HHS NEWS

NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS       Print Media:         301-827-6242
December 2, 1997             
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         FDA SCIENTISTS UNCOVER FACTORS IN THE SELECTIVE
                NATURE OF SEXUALLY-TRANSMITTED HIV

     FDA researchers have discovered factors which may make
certain strains of HIV-1 more likely to be transmitted through
sexual contact than others.  These findings, published in the
December 1997 issue of Nature Medicine, may have important
ramifications for the development of vaccines and post-HIV-1
exposure agents.  The research was done in collaboration with
scientists at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes
of Health.     
     FDA's researchers at the agency's Center for Biologics
Evaluation and Review (CBER), found that surface molecules or
receptors for the M-tropic strains of the HIV-1 virus are
functionally active on certain cells (Langerhans and macrophages)
found in the body's mucosal tissues, and allow infection.  
     A related "News and Views" article published in the same
issue of Nature Medicine notes that this finding provides very
valuable insight into the mechanisms of HIV-1 transmission and
selection processes.  This understanding, in turn, could prove to
be critical in more effectively targeting vaccine or 
post-exposure methods for combating HIV-1.
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