User:MCSD619/Herpes Cure and Vaccine Research

Duke University, University of Florida and Harvard Medical School are currently researching vaccines and cures for both HSV-1 & HSV-2. By age 40, nearly 90% of adults have been exposed to the herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1), which causes cold sores. The World Health Organization estimates that in the United States, 40 to 60 million people harbor the infection, making it one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in this country. All three of these colleges are in need of research funding. Please review the information below regarding the current research. Duke University (Cure) Professor Bryan Cullen at Duke University conducted a study of herpes and found a glimmer of hope for a cure. Herpes simplex viruses - both the oral (type 1) and genital (type 2) varieties, hide from the immune system and from current antiviral drugs by hiding in nerve cells in an inactive "latent" form. Researchers at Duke University are developing a novel approach that they believe will force the virus out of this latent state and allow it to be immediately killed with standard antiviral drugs such as acyclovir.

Dr. Bryan Cullen Contact Info: http://mgm.duke.edu/faculty/cullen/ Duke University Donation Form: https://www.gifts.duke.edu/

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - National Institues of Health (Learn how the cold sore virus hides article with Dr. Bryan Cullen) http://www.nih.gov/news/research_matters/july2008/07142008herpes.htm

University of Florida (Inactive virus) Professor David C. Bloom at University of Florida which also includes researchers and clinicians from obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics and ophthalmology and the university's Genetics Institute came up with a way to cut the virus' RNA to prevent reactivation. By designing special enzymes called hammerhead ribozymes, the researchers were able to target a so-called "late" gene that releases its protein product relatively late after infection. With late genes, partial corruption of the genetic material is sufficient to shut down virus production, as opposed to "early" genes, which would require total inactivation to hinder the process. Ribozymes are applied to the region where reactivations occur and reduce or eliminate viral replication/reactivation at those sites.

Potential new herpes therapy studied: http://news.ufl.edu/2009/02/03/herpes-2/ HSV-1 Research Program College of Medicine (016081) ttps://www.uff.ufl.edu/OnlineGiving/FundDetail.asp?FundCode=016081 HSV-2 Research Program College of Medicine (016087) https://www.uff.ufl.edu/OnlineGiving/FundDetail.asp?FundCode=016087

Harvard Medical School (Vaccine) Professor David Knipe of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Chair, Harvard Virology Program studies the molecular and cellular biology of herpes simplex virus productive and latent infection and the mechanism of the host immune response to HSV. They've also have been studying a candidate genital herpes vaccine that they've developed, and are constructing and studying HSV recombinants as vaccine vectors for AIDS, SARS, West Nile and anthrax vaccines. Professor David Knipe Lab Research Contact Info: http://knipelab.med.harvard.edu/contact.html Professor David Knipe Lab Research Fund: http://knipelab.med.harvard.edu/vaccine.html

U.S. National Library of Medicine explaining HSV-1: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000606.htm U.S. National Library of Medicine explaining HSV-2: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000857.htm