Research: Smash and grab

20 February 2008

A study that sheds light on how some monkey species resist viral infection could help in the development of treatments for HIV.

The protein TRIM5 plays a key role in the innate immune system, the first line of defence against infection. In particular, it prevents infection with retroviruses (the family that includes HIV). Which viruses TRIM5 inhibits varies between species. So, while TRIM5 from some primates prevents HIV infection, the human form does not.

Now, a team that includes Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow Professor Greg Towers (University College London) has identified an altered version of TRIM5 in the rhesus macaque. Some macaques produced a protein called TRIMCyp, a fusion of TRIM5 and another protein called cyclophilin A. The Cyp part of TRIMCyp ‘grabs’ viruses when they enter host cells and the TRIM part destroys them.

The authors plan to develop artificial human TRIMCyp proteins, which they hope could be used as a novel treatment for HIV.

References

Wilson SJ et al. Independent evolution of an antiviral TRIMCyp in Rhesus macaques. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2008;105(9):3557-62.