A PROTEIN that hampers the absorption of anti-HIV drugs in the brain has been
tracked down by researchers.
Drugs called protease inhibitors are needed to fight devastating AIDS-related
illnesses such as dementia. Richard Kim and his colleagues at Vanderbilt
University in Nashville, Tennessee, suspected that a protein called
P-glycoprotein (Pgp) hampers their absorption in the brain.
The team confirmed this using mice that were genetically engineered to lack
Pgp. Levels of protein inhibitors in the brain were between 7 and 36 times as
high in these animals (The Journal of Clinical Investigation, vol 101,
p 289).
Advertisement
鈥淧gp appears to be a significant player in giving sanctuary sites to the
virus,鈥� says Kim, who notes that medicines which dampen Pgp鈥檚 activity already
exist. These could lower the necessary dose of protease inhibitors, making them
more affordable in poorer countries.
