a030  0616  06 Nov 87
PM-AIDS Infection, Bjt,0644
Infections Can Cause Dormant AIDS Virus To 'Turn On'
By PAUL RECER
AP Science Writer
    WASHINGTON (AP) - A substance normally produced by the body during
infection or drug use can play a role in changing latent exposure to
AIDS into an active disease that kills, a federal researcher says.
    Dr. Anthony S. Fauci said in an interview Thursday that in research
at the National Institutes of Health he and four colleagues for the
first time were able to show how a natural body chemical can ''turn
on'' the virus that causes AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency
syndrome.
    Fauci said the findings suggest that perhaps those people who have
tested positive for the presence of the AIDS virus could delay the
active stage of the disease by making fundamental changes in their
lifestyle. He emphasized, however, that this was still only
speculation.
    Fauci was a member of a team of researchers that included Thomas M.
Folks, Jesse Justement and Audrey Kinter at NIH, and Charles A.
Dinarello at Tufts University. Their findings were reported today in
Science magazine.
    AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. This
virus typically lies dormant for five to seven years before it
progresses to an active infection that disables the body's immune
system.
    A key goal of AIDS researchers has been an understanding of the
mechanism that causes the HIV virus to evolve from a harmless latency
detected only by blood tests into a vicious infection that kills.
    Using human cells infected with the AIDS virus, Fauci said he and
his colleagues were able to cause the virus to become active by
exposing the cells to cytokine, a protein substance that is secreted
into the bloodstream by the body's immune system.
    The scientist said the experiment suggests the AIDS virus gradually
can be activated by infections or chemicals that would cause the
repeated secretion of cytokine.
    ''This may be one of the mechanisms that turns a latent infection
into an active infection,'' Fauci said. ''We're not saying it's the
only way because there may be others.''
    A mechanism to activate the dormant AIDS virus has not been
demonstrated previously, but Fauci said the experiment ''was not a
breakthrough'' because there still is much unknown about the process.
    Although the finding suggests that infections can help activate the
AIDS virus, Fauci said, ''you cannot extrapolate this to mean that a
common cold would trigger it.''
    Activation of the virus, he said, ''does not occur rapidly or
overnight.'' Instead, he characterized the process as an ''insidious
conversion'' that ''gradually whittles away'' until the AIDS
infection becomes overwhelming.
    Fauci said the study also suggests, ''but does not prove,'' that
people who have tested positive for AIDS could delay active symptoms
of the disease by adopting a lifestyle that limits the secretion of
cytokine.
    That, he said, would include avoiding ''noxious insults to the
body,'' such as recreational drugs, which can trigger cytokine.
    Fauci also suggested persons exposed to AIDS start following ''safe
sex'' practices for their own benefit, because ''sexually transmitted
diseases are potent modulators of the immune system'' that might
hasten the active expression of the AIDS virus.
    AIDS is spread most often through sexual contact, needles or
syringes shared by drug abusers, infected blood or blood products,
and from pregnant women to their offspring. It destroys parts of the
body's immune system and makes the victim susceptible to infections
and cancer. No cure is known.
    Understanding the mechanism that causes the AIDS virus to become
active may be important eventually in controlling the disease. Fauci
said if scientists could devise a way to prevent the virus from
becoming active, it would keep AIDS from becoming a killer. But, he
said, ''We are still a far cry from that.''
    
 
AP-NY-11-06-87 0513EST
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