The Invitrogen technology covered in these agreements involves methods and kits for substantially amplifying nucleic acids. It is useful in several common laboratory techniques, including random primed labeling reactions, first-strand cDNA synthesis, and whole genome amplification.

"Our random prime amplification technology is an important tool in our premier portfolio of products for genetic analysis," said Amy Butler, Invitrogen Vice President of Gene Expression Profiling. "By making this technology broadly available to other companies through licensing, we can extend the benefit to a greater number of researchers and advance this rapidly growing field of research."

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The idea that Apobec3 can influence not only the ability of HIV to cause infection but also antibody responses to the virus is supported by a previous study demonstrating that the human chromosomal region containing several Apobec3 genes is linked to anti-HIV antibody responses in a group of Italian subjects who were repeatedly exposed to the virus by their HIV-infected partners but remained uninfected.

The new research by the Gladstone Institute and NIAID is also intriguing in light of an earlier study demonstrating that HIV uses one of its own proteins, Vif, to destroy two human Apobec3 proteins. Given that Apobec3 seems to help the immune system make neutralizing antibodies against retroviruses, the destruction of Apobec3 proteins by Vif might help explain why most people do not make neutralizing antibodies against HIV.

"Our mouse studies suggest that neutralization of Vif could provide the unexpected benefit of better antibody responses to HIV and therefore better control of HIV infection," says Dr. Kim Hasenkrug, chief of the retroviral immunology section at NIAID's Rocky Mountain Laboratories and the study's lead NIAID investigator. "We knew that Apobec3 had very interesting antiviral properties, but this new discovery that it affects antibody responses will generate even greater interest in both Apobec3 and Vif."

NIAID conducts and supports research - at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide - to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at niaid.nih.

Reference: ML Santiago et al. Apobec3 encodes Rfv3, a gene influencing neutralizing antibody control of retrovirus infection. Science DOI 10.1126/science.1161121 (2008).

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