Stanford University Researchers Synthesize Compound To Flush HIV Out Of Hiding And Into Crosshairs

ScienceDaily (May 1, 2008) — Any hunter will tell you that when your quarry goes into hiding, you have to flush it out to get a good shot at it. Such is the case with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Though antiretroviral "cocktails" can target an active infection, they cannot get at the virus when it retreats inside the host's T cells, where it may lie dormant for decades, waiting for an opportunity to burst forth in a fresh round of infection. What HIV hunters need is a good bird dog. Now, Stanford chemist Paul Wender and his coworkers have found a way to synthesize better bird dogs, agents that can be tailored to flush HIV out into the open where the immune system and antiretroviral therapies can destroy it. Wender is senior author of a paper about the research in the May 2 issue of Science.