A.I.D.S. virus changes as disease progresses

Press, 13 April 1988, Page 42

A.I.D.S. virus changes as disease progresses

NZPA-AP Washington ! A study at the Univer- ! sity of California in San Francisco suggests the A.I.D.S. virus gets tougher, i meaner and faster acting as patients with the ; disease get sicker. | Dr Jay Levy; professor of medicine at U.C.S.F., j said he and a; group of i researchers isolated the human immunodeficiency j virus from four patients ■ over a four-year period and discovered; that the virus, which; causes A.1.D.5., seems to go through an evolution that' makes it stronger while; the patient gets; weaker. | “It’s surprising,” | Dr! Levy said in an/interview. ; “The virus doesn’t just; stay the same; but actu-| ally changes its biologic features. It looks like the same virus, but it’s probably revolving i within the individual. i Dr Levy said the study used' randomly selected;

associated with A.1.D.5., had not yet developed the disease. : ! As the study progressed, three of the four subjects developed A.I.D.S. and two of these died. The fourth patient remains without A.I.D.S. symptoms. In the three who developed A.1.D.5., Dr Levysaid the H.I.V. viruses isolated from their blood samples became more and more virulent as their symptoms intensified. Virulence was tested by exposing the isolated virus to cells in test tubes. I Dr Levy said that when trie subjects were experiencing the most severe AU-D.S. symptoms, the rf.I.V. from their blood Was able to rhultiply more , readily, infect host cells more easily and would, attack a greater variety of ■ cfells. ' .. . j j But the virulence didj not change in the virus isolated periodically from the patient who remained

free of A.1.D.5.. symptoms, he said. Dr Levy said it was obvious the virus must be able to reproduce, or replicate, in order to evolve I this increasing virulence. As a result, he said, if researchers could stop the virus from replicating', then it could be kept harmless, even though it continued to live within [ the patient.