HIV in cells eradicated with antifungal drug

Date: Sep-27-2013New research by an international team finds that Ciclopirox, an antifungal cream used all over the world, completely eradicates
HIV - the virus that leads to AIDS - in cultured cells, and the virus does not return when the treatment stops.

The study also found
Deferiprone, a systemic drug used to remove excess iron from the body in people who have beta-thalassaemia major, has the same effect.

The researchers, including a team from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, write about their findings in a paper
published online this week in the journal PLOS ONE.

As both drugs are already approved for use in humans - both in the US and Europe - the researchers say this means the normally
lengthy process of drug development should be less costly and time-consuming, bringing closer the prospect of global elimination of
HIV and AIDS.
Drugs reactivate suicide pathway in HIV-infected cells

Viruses thrive by invading cells and using their resources. The cells of our body have a natural way of stopping this - they kill
themselves. When the immune system detects the presence of a virus, it triggers a cell process called apoptosis that makes infected
cells commit suicide.

But the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has a way around this: it disables the host cell's ability to commit suicide, allowing
it to continue to exploit cellular resources to fuel its growth and spread.

In this new study, the researchers found the drugs work against HIV in two ways: they inhibit expression of certain HIV genes, and
they also jam up the host cell's mitochondria, the little powerhouses that supply them with energy. Both these effects reactivate the
cell's suicide pathway.

Healthy cells not infected with HIV were not affected. And remarkably, the virus did not bounce back when treatment stopped.

First study to show additional route to cell suicide

While previous research has already found Ciclopirox and
Deferiprone can stop HIV by inhibiting some of the virus' genes, this new study is the first to show an additional route to
reactivation of cell suicide via mitochondrial interference.

Thanks to these previous results confirmed in this new study, and the fact the systemic drug is already known to be safe in
humans, testing the effectiveness of Deferiprone against HIV has already moved directly from cell culture to human trial in South
Africa, bypassing the need for animal testing.

Ciclopirox is not approved for systemic use, as it is a topical cream. But the discovery that both drugs, each well-tolerated in
humans, are also able to eradicate HIV in cell culture renews hope that HIV and AIDS will one day, in the not
too distant future, be wiped from the face of the Earth.

The findings follow other good news released this week - as world leaders meet at the United Nations General Assembly to review
progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, UNAIDS reports a 52%
reduction in new HIV infections among children and a combined 33% reduction among adults and children since 2001.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

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