Johns Hopkins scientists discovered recently that an old acne drug has a purpose in addition to warding off acne. The drug minocycline, prescribed for years to treat moderate to severe acne, has been proven to improve on the standard Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART). The drug has been found to target infected immune cells in which HIV lies dormant and prevents them from replicating and reactivating. This research has been published in the April 15 edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases. “The powerful advantage to using minocycline is that the virus appears less able to develop drug resistance because minocycline targets cellular pathways not viral proteins,” says Janice Clements, Ph.D., Mary Wallace Stanton Professor of Faculty Affairs, vice dean for faculty, and professor of molecular and comparative pathobiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
How Acne Drugs Fight HIV
T-cells are the Achilles' heel of a person infected with HIV. T-cells are used to fight infections within the body and when compromised the body will grow weaker. They are a major component of the immune system and HIV breaks them down. The drugs used in HAART work on targeting the virus within the immune system and halting replication. This new study shows that minocycline reduces the ability of infected T-cells to activate and proliferate. Dr. Clements adds "Minocycline reduces the capability of the virus to emerge from resting infected T-cells,” Szeto explains. “It prevents the virus from escaping in the one in a million cells in which it lays dormant in a person on HAART, and since it prevents virus activation it should maintain the level of viral latency or even lower it. That’s the goal: Sustaining a latent non-infectious state.”
A New HIV Treatment is on the Horizon
The idea for using minocycline emerged from research by another study that showed the anti-inflammatory effects of minocycline on rhuematoid arthritis. The Hopkins group then tested minocycline on monkeys infected with SIV, a primate version of HIV. Once treated with minocycline, the viral load significantly decreased. The success with that model ignited a study of the effects of the antibiotic with human T cells infected with HIV. Using cells from HIV-infected humans on HAART, the team isolated the “resting” immune cells and treated half of them with minocycline. Then they counted how many virus particles were reactivated, finding completely undetectable levels in the treated cells versus detectable levels in the untreated cells.
These results could make taming the HIV shrew a much more manageable task and lead to a hopeful future in treatment.
Candace Y.A. Montague - Candace Y.A. Montague is a lover of the arts; especially writing. She has been a "writer in training" for over 10 years and has published ...
