http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/stories/person/1677 Stories and external links referencing a person (RSS) en http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/medicine-health/articles/rnai-solution-knocks-down-herpes-infection <!--paging_filter--><p>Ever since RNA interference hit the scene a few years ago as a way to selectively turn off gene expression, researchers have been investigating whether these small but powerful bits of RNA can be used as therapies. The problem has been delivery - how to get the RNA into the cell where it can silence gene expression. A study in the Nov. 23, 2005 Nature showcases a novel therapeutic approach for RNAi - as a vaginal microbicide that can reduce genital herpes virus infection in mice. The result of a collaboration between the labs of Judy Lieberman and David Knipe, the study shows that small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) can be readily taken up by mucosal surfaces of the body and reduce viral infection.</p><p><a href="http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/medicine-health/articles/rnai-solution-knocks-down-herpes-infection">read more</a></p> Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:43:18 -0400 70652986 3586 at http://harvardscience.harvard.edu http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/medicine-health/articles/findings-recommend-herpes-vaccine-human-trials <!--paging_filter--><p>Research published in the January 2005 Journal of Virology compared three different experimental vaccines for herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2), which causes most cases of genital herpes. Lead author Stephen Straus, senior investigator in the Medical Virology Section in the Laboratory of Clinical Infectious Diseases at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, tested the vaccines in two established animal models of herpes infection. A vaccine developed by Harvard researcher David Knipe, called dl5-29, outperformed the other two vaccines, one of which has already been tested in humans. Straus said that the results argue strongly for taking dl5-29 into human trials. "Based upon dl5-29's biological and immunological properties, it appears to be the most compelling new vaccine candidate for genital herpes," he said. HSV-2 infects one in five Americans, and its prevalence has reached 50 percent in some developing countries, where it also seems to be helping to fuel the spread of HIV. HSV-2 infection, though incurable, typically does not cause major health problems, but can be life-threatening in immunocompromised people and newborn babies infected by their mothers.</p> Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:36:29 -0400 70652986 3525 at http://harvardscience.harvard.edu