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New strategy to halt HIV growth: block its sugar and nutrient pipeline. HIV has a voracious sweet tooth, which turns out to be its Achilles' heel, reports a new study from Northwestern Medicine and Vanderbilt University.
After the virus invades an activated immune cell, it craves sugar and nutrients from the cell to replicate and fuel its wild growth throughout the body.
Scientists discovered the switch that turns on the immune cell's abundant sugar and nutrient pipeline. Then they blocked the switch with an experimental compound, shutting down the pipeline, and, thereby, starving HIV to death. The virus was unable to replicate in human cells in vitro.
The discovery may have applications in treating cancer, which also has an immense appetite for sugar and other nutrients in the cell, which it needs to grow and spread.
http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2015/05/hivs-sweet-tooth-is-its-downfall.html
[Abstract]: http://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1004864
Original Submission
(Score: 2) by q.kontinuum on Monday June 01 2015, @11:39AM
Before I started following the Atkins diet [wikipedia.org], I did some internet search for potential negative side-effects and found some interesting positive side-effects instead. According to this research paper [nutritionandmetabolism.com] assembled by the University Hospital in Würzburg (Germany), there is some evidence that reducing the carbohydrate intake has a beneficial impact on cancer-patients because cancer-cells have a high need for glucose.
Since TFA draws a connection between this HIV-medication and potential benefits to cancer-patients, I'd be interested to know if there is any research evaluating potential positive effects of low-carb diets on HIV-patients. The links I found are quite [webmd.com] old [thebody.com] and seem a bit out of touch with latest research.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 01 2015, @02:40PM
Is it low carb diets or just low calorie that matters?
(Score: 2) by q.kontinuum on Monday June 01 2015, @04:22PM
It's low carb only. I eat lots of cheese, linen-seed, olives, fatty fish and meat. Cancer cells seem to require sugar to grow and multiply. Sugar is acquired by direct intake and from starch. Fat is converted to ketone bodies, which can be used by muscles, brain and other organs.
The Atkins diet works (for me at least), without suffering hunger.
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(Score: 3, Informative) by opinionated_science on Monday June 01 2015, @03:36PM
The biology generally support the assertion that "glucose is need for fast growing cells.". Deprived of carbohydrate the human metabolism is able to survive fine on ketones produced from fat, but this also suggested restricted energy production.
There is clinical evidence that fasting (generally, but dropping carbohydrate below ketotic limit), focus the body on repair not proliferation. A general suppression of the immune system is also observed.
In general, it does raise the question whether the obesity epidemic is the real cause of so many secondary disorders, by providing far more fuel than is necessary to the body?
In the case of HIV as a viral disease, I have not read of any clinical association data to obesity. However the principle of immune modulation through glucose control is potentially relevant.
(Score: 2) by q.kontinuum on Monday June 01 2015, @04:46PM
Anecdotal evidence: I did notice a steep performance-drop when running medium distances. I assume this is because carbohydrates are usually stored in the muscle tissue and fuel the body for the first 30 minutes or so, providing easily accessible energy.
Anecdotal evidence: For the immune system, I did not notice any negative impact due to the diet, rather the opposite as far as minor flues etc. are concerned. However, it requires some caution avoid some pitfalls. Lack of fibre, vitamins (yes, I know that vitamins are overrated, but I'm not yet convinced they are entirely useless) and magnesium. Green vegetables, linen-seed and olives are helpful.
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(Score: 2) by opinionated_science on Tuesday June 02 2015, @04:23AM
when running your expenditure determines the body's use of resources, not the other way around. However, the accumulation of lactic acid and lack of glucose, will of course, cause the feeling of fatigue. The trick is not to run so fast, and aim for 60% aerobic potential. The body is then able to gently shift from stored glycogen to ketosis. After approximately 40 mins, you can start to increase pace and find the sweet spot for your personal metabolism.
This has all been clinically documented, only I'm in no position to find the citations right now - the study was on marathon runners and calorific consumption, but it was a while since I read it.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Monday June 01 2015, @07:21PM
FWIW, I tried an Atkins-ish diet for about 6 months. Afterwards my triglycerides levels were a *lot* higher. This was not a desirable change, even though I did lose weight on it.
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(Score: 2) by q.kontinuum on Monday June 01 2015, @08:39PM
May I ask how Atkins-ish your diet was? I'm trying to limit my meat-consumption and focus on healthy fat, like olives, fish, olive-oil, linen-seeds, cottage-cheese etc. I do eat meat, but try not to fall for the common misconception that Atkins is meat only.
Beside that, I don't usually don't discuss the details at length with larger communities, so I don't know how common it is to not get along with Atkins. I know some people have difficulties, and some swear they can only lose weight on low-fat diet, not on low-carb.
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(Score: 2) by HiThere on Tuesday June 02 2015, @07:56PM
Very high in meats, very low in carbohydrates, except for things like broccoli, etc. Beans pretty much ok, but limited. Cabbage, brussel sprouts, etc. ok. Sugar only in fruit, and then in extreme moderation.
The meat was largely low fat cuts. For reasons of economy this meant a lot of chicken and turkey. Perhaps beef every third day. Fish at least once a week. (It's been awhile, and I don't usually categorize this way, so this is a bit vague.) Lots of eggs and cheese (but low carb cheeses only).
I've nearly turned that on it's head, though not quite. I'm now nearly vegetarian except for eggs and fish. Sugar is still quite limited, though, and I keep trying to also limit starches...but not to the extent that I did on the atkinsish diet. Beans has become a mainstay. The problem is satisfaction is more difficult. Also interesting greens tend to be seasonal. Since I'm also trying to keep a generally low salt diet (which I also had before) this make things difficult. Frozen and canned foods generally have totally unreasonable amounts of salt added. There are some exceptions, but that means limited choices. (And it's made the worse because I really don't like thinking about what I'm going to eat. It's not only unattractive to me, it tends to make me hungry.)
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 01 2015, @07:55PM
I'm not terribly worried about low carb diets. This is a receptor they're playing with (from the generalized description). I'm worried that one could turn off enough sugar to kill healthy cells.
(Score: 2) by Joe on Monday June 01 2015, @11:04PM
cancer-cells have a high need for glucose
The preferential use of glycolosis is called the Warburg effect and it is true for most tumors, but it is not an absolute requirement. One of the reasons cancer cells like glycolosis so much, even though it is less effecient at producing energy, is because it produces more precursors needed for the cells to grow and divide.
potential positive effects of low-carb diets on HIV-patients
I don't think there would be anything that specific and I'm not sure how many people would want to get close to a topic that may give fuel to HIV denialists (like the former South African Minister of Health).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warburg_effect#Oncology [wikipedia.org]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manto_Tshabalala-Msimang [wikipedia.org]
- Joe