CHOP and Temple Receive NIH Grant to Explore Eradicating HIV From Hiding Places in the Brain

October 27, 2014 — The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Temple University have received a joint $4.3 million, four-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to investigate new methods to eradicate HIV that lurks in brain cells despite conventional antiviral treatments.

The NeuroAIDS Grant funds three research projects, each targeting different biological pathways crucial to the persistence of the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. Scientists from CHOP’s section of immunology and Temple’s department of neuroscience are collaborating on these cell and animal studies to explore methods to enhance the immune system’s ability to attack HIV infection.

“This program represents a fresh look into a longstanding problem in HIV treatment — reservoirs of HIV within immune cells,” said Steven D. Douglas, MD, professor of pediatrics and chief of the section of immunology at CHOP. “While current antiretroviral treatments can reduce the virus to undetectable levels, HIV persists latently inside cells. If drug treatment is interrupted, the virus comes surging back.”

Douglas and Jay Rappaport, PhD, professor of neuroscience and neurovirology at Temple University School of Medicine, are co-principal investigators of the new grant.

“All three projects seek to bypass vulnerabilities in the body’s immune system that are exploited by HIV,” said Rappaport. “By using biological tools to reinforce immune function, we aim to enable the immune system to eliminate HIV infection.”

During the first two years of the grant, the project teams will concentrate on basic biology to determine which pre-clinical approaches show the most promise for advancing into studies using animal models in the third and fourth years. The goal of the animal studies is to demonstrate proof-of-concept for strategies that could set the stage for subsequent human trials of innovative HIV treatments.

Project 1, led by Rappaport, focuses on the metabolism of ATP, the chemical that serves as energy currency in cells. Because HIV infection stimulates enzymes that degrade ATP and weaken immune responses, the research team will explore drug candidates that inhibit those enzymes.

Project 2, led by Tracy Fischer-Smith, PhD, assistant professor of neuroscience and neurovirology at Temple, concentrates on signaling proteins that drive immune polarization, in which cells called macrophages shift from protective roles to immune-suppressive activities. The team’s goal is to counteract those proteins’ signals and restore infection-fighting functions to immune cells.

Project 3, led by Douglas, investigates substance P, a neuropeptide with a key role in promoting inflammation during HIV infection. By manipulating NK-1R, a cell receptor that binds to substance P, the research team aims to disrupt HIV’s entry into cell reservoirs and to block the viral replication that accounts for HIV’s devastating effects.

“HIV infection disrupts immune cells by swinging a biological pendulum off balance into immune-suppressive activities that drive the disease,” said Fischer-Smith. “All three projects aim to modulate the immune system, inhibiting processes that are dangerously up-regulated, and restoring a healthy balance.”

This work is in collaboration with the Penn Mental Health AIDS Research Center at Penn Medicine and CHOP, and Temple’s Comprehensive NeuroAIDS Center — two NIH-supported centers concentrating on mental health and HIV.

Contact

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

John Ascenzi, 267-426-6055 or ascenzi@email.chop.edu

Temple

Preston Moretz, 215-204-4389 or pmoretz@Temple.edu

About The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation’s first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children’s Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program receives the highest amount of National Institutes of Health funding among all U.S. children’s hospitals. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 535-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit http://www.chop.edu.

About Temple University School of Medicine

Established in 1901, the Temple University School of Medicine (TUSM) is one of the nation’s leading medical schools.  Each year, the School of Medicine educates approximately 840 medical students and 140 graduate students. Based on its level of funding from the National Institutes of Health, Temple University School of Medicine is the second-highest ranked medical school in Philadelphia and the third-highest in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  According to U.S. News & World Report, TUSM is among the top 10 most applied-to medical schools in the nation. For more information, visit: www.temple.edu/medicine