

Scientists see mechanism for spontaneous HIV 'cure' - spking
http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-mechanism-spontaneous-hiv-cure-111655252.html

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shiven
Great to see APOBECs in the news! My colleagues and I have been working on
solving the structures of these proteins for the last 5 years and more. If
HNers have any questions, I'll try answering to the best of my knowledge.

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joeguilmette
How close are we to seeing a commercial application for this?

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shiven
The fundamentals of activating APOBECs are being worked out by multiple groups
across the world. That said, one phrase you'll always read around the APOBEC3
sub-family of proteins (responsible for the anti-HIV effect), is "double-edged
sword". The biggest risk, with (cytidine deaminase) enzymes that act on DNA,
thereby changing the fundamental genetic code, is causing cancer. More
recently, APOBEC3B (no anti-HIV effect, but same sub-family), was shown to
have _extremely strong_ correlation with breast cancer[0]! The emerging
therapeutic field involving APOBECs will require highly specific targeting of
activators(anti-HIV) as well as inhibitors(anti-cancer)[1].

[0]:
[http://www.cell.com/abstract/S0092-8674%2812%2900528-4](http://www.cell.com/abstract/S0092-8674%2812%2900528-4)

[1]: [http://www.apogenbiotech.com/](http://www.apogenbiotech.com/)

