Cyclin T, A New HIV Target

Inventors: Katherine Jones, Ping Wei, Mitchell Garber, Shi-Min Fang
Potential Uses: HIV, Drug Discovery and Development
Materials and methods useful for identifying compounds that prevent binding of Cyclin T to HIV Tat, thus disrupting HIV's infection cycle.

After HIV has settled into a chromosome, a viral protein called Tat (transactivating transcription factor) accelerates the production of new virus particles. Without Tat, an infection would not be likely to get off the ground. Researchers have known that Tat does not function alone, but requires help from a partner molecule in the cell. However, the nature of the cellular partner remained elusive. This invention covers the discovery of the molecule called cyclin T which appears to be Tat's partner. This discovery opens the door to developing a new class of therapeutic agents for AIDS based on blocking the chain of events created by the Tat-Cyclin T connection.