Semen protein ushers HIV into cells


	Semen protein ushers HIV into cells

pokkets

12-14-2007 3:32 AM

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tags:

hiv, aids, semen, virus, infection, transmission

pokkets says:

They were looking for factors in human semen that may be used to block the AIDS infection. What they found was a factor that increased transmission as much as 50 fold.

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<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://www.clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/ae6c2f5c-97f0-438c-8929-f839cc8592b7/3948C893-BA3F-45B6-A429-28964496EA37/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/12/14/2118941.htm?site=science&topic=human" href="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/12/14/2118941.htm?site=science&topic=human" style="font-size: 11px;">www.abc.net.au</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/12/14/2118941.htm?site=science&topic=human"> Julie Steenhuysen</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/12/14/2118941.htm?site=science&topic=human"><P class="first">An ingredient in human semen may actually help HIV infect cells, German researchers say.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/12/14/2118941.htm?site=science&topic=human"><div align="center"><img src="http://content6.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/www.abc.net.au/img/02A254BE-454F-492F-BB7A-F08FF8752247" alt="HIV-infected cell" /></div></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/12/14/2118941.htm?site=science&topic=human">Virus particles cover an infected T-cell</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/12/14/2118941.htm?site=science&topic=human"><P>Dr Jan Münch of the <A target="_blank" href="http://www.uniklinik-ulm.de/">University Clinic of Ulm</A> and colleagues report their findings in the current issue of the journal <A target="_blank" href="http://www.cell.com/"><EM>Cell</EM></A>.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/12/14/2118941.htm?site=science&topic=human"><P>They say a naturally ocurring enzyme produced by the prostate, called prostatic acidic phosphatase (PAP), can form tiny fibres that capture bits of HIV and usher it into cells.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/12/14/2118941.htm?site=science&topic=human"><P>The researchers made the discovery while looking for factors in semen that might block infection with HIV-1, the most common strain of the virus that causes AIDS.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/12/14/2118941.htm?site=science&topic=human"><P>Instead, they found one that enhanced transmission, in some experiments as much as 50-fold.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/12/14/2118941.htm?site=science&topic=human"><P>"In this study we show that fragments of PAP, a highly abundant semen marker, form amyloid fibrils [fibres] that drastically enhance the infectiousness of HIV-1," the researchers write.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/12/14/2118941.htm?site=science&topic=human"><P>They say they are now looking for compounds that might block this process to slow transmission of the disease.</P></blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/3948C893-BA3F-45B6-A429-28964496EA37/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content7.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>