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| Apollo proteins used in AIDS prevention quest |
Prof Tony Cunningham; Apollo's proteins | A leading HIV expert is using a protein custom-made by Apollo Life Sciences in research that could help prevent the spread of AIDS.
Professor Tony Cunningham, Director of Westmead Hospital's Millennium Institute, is using the Apollo protein in his studies into how HIV is contracted and absorbed by the body.
"Apollo is one of the best producers of protein around. My research focuses on how the virus gets into the body and how it can infect cells that most other viruses can't penetrate. We're trying to understand how HIV uses dendritic cells to get at T-lymphocytes."
Dendritic cells are the 'scouts' of the body's immune system, processing viruses and leading the immune response. However, HIV is able to infect these cells and 'piggyback' on them through the body to the lymph nodes, where it infects T-lymphocytes or 'T-cells', which are the body's main line of defence against viruses.
Using Apollo's proteins as a building block, Prof Cunningham hopes to develop a formula that prevents this from occurring. "We want to develop a protective cream that inhibits uptake of the virus."
Prof Cunningham says his research is particularly relevant to male-to-female transmission of HIV, because dendritic cells line the female genital tract.
Male-female transmission now accounts for the majority of new infections - especially in Africa, which has long struggled with low levels of condom use. Africa accounts for 28 million of the 45 million HIV-positive people worldwide. In some African countries, as many as 30% of adults are infected.
Prof Cunningham approached Apollo because its proteins are produced in human cells, rather than from yeast, bacteria or insect cells. He said this unique structure improves their biological effectiveness and "is a very valuable resource for Australian biomedical research and biotechnology."
Apollo is the only company in the world to have mastered the technology to produce a large range of human-expressed proteins. The HIV research is just one of the exciting applications of Apollo's library of human-derived proteins. Apollo has produced over 70 individual proteins, with potential applications for both research and clinical use.
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