Defensins Protect Against HIV Infection

Researchers have found that beta defensins 2 and 3 (hBD2 and hBD3), peptides produced by oral mucosal tissue, protect the mouth from infection by the AIDS virus by binding directly to the viral particles and by regulating receptors the virus requires to infect human cells.

Investigators from Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH, USA; www.cwru.edu) and the Cleveland Clinic (OH, USA; www.clevelandclinic.org) studied the interaction of HIV-1 with human oral mucosal cells being grown in tissue culture. They found that HIV-1 induced expression of hBD-2 and -3 mRNA (but not that of hBD-1) four- to 78-fold, respectively, above baseline in normal human oral epithelial cells. The virus failed to infect these cells even after five days of exposure. Recombinant hBD-1 had no antiviral activity, while rhBD-2 and rhBD-3 showed concentration-dependent inhibition of HIV-1 replication without cellular toxicity. These findings were published in the November 7, 2003, edition of AIDS.

"It is the unique properties of the good bugs found in the mouth that are inducing the expression of hBD2 and 3,” explained senior author Dr. Aaron Weinberg, director of research at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dentistry. "Information gained from the study has the potential to develop new medical interventions using natural products, such as those being isolated from the ‘good oral bugs' that induce hBD2 and 3, in other sites of the body that are more susceptible to HIV infection.”





Related Links:
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland Clinic