The Findings Suggest a New Approach to Clearing Infections
from AIDS to Hepatitis
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have
made a counterintuitive finding that may lead to new ways to clear persistent
infection that is the hallmark of such diseases as AIDS, hepatitis B and
hepatitis C.
The study, reported in the April 12, 2013 issue of the
journal Science, focused on the activity of the body’s type 1 interferon
(IFN-I) proteins. Since its discovery over 50 years ago, IFN-I has been
believed to be an especially powerful antiviral agent that marshals the immune
system’s response against the body’s foreign invaders. But in the new study,
the TSRI scientists document in mice that IFN-I initiates persistent infection
and limits the generation of an effective antiviral immune response.