Stephen Smith, Gene research finds clues to AIDS survival; Boston-led study is part of vaccine search. Boston Globe, Nov. 5, 2010. http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/11/05/gene_research_finds_clues_to_aids_survival/ ("The genetic testing found something distinctive about that warning system in controllers — differences in five amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. In those people, a tiny groove in a molecule that is part of the warning system has a particular shape, affecting how the warning flag sits atop cells") My comment: (a) Bruce D. Walker, MD is head of Ragon Institute. (b) Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard http://www.ragoninstitute.org/about_history.html (at Massachusetts General Hospital - East, Charlestown, Massachusetts; establishment announced on Feb. 4, 2009; founded through a $100 million gift – the largest gift in MGH history – from the Phillip T. and Susan M. Ragon Institute Foundation) (c) Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard http://www.broadinstitute.org/ (at three far-flung buildings at City of Cambridge, Mass.; founded in 2003 and launched in 2004 through the extraordinary generosity and remarkable vision of Los Angeles-based philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad; head Eric Lander) (d) The report refers to The International HIV Controllers Study, The Major Genetic Determinants of HIV-1 Control Affect HLA Class I Peptide Presentation. Science, __: __ ( published online Nov. 4, 2010) http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/sci;science.1195271v1?maxtoshow=&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=hiv&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT (i) I just clicked "FULL TEXT (PDF)" in the upper left corner of this page, and browse through it. The Science article identifies five amino acid mutation in HLA-B that can protect HIV carriers (called "controllers" in the Globe report). "The results of this procedure provided evidence that multiple amino acid positions in the peptide binding groove are indeed associated with host control (table S7), including 62, 63, 67, 70, and 97, thus providing a structural basis for the effect of HLA-B on host control (Fig. 4)." web page 3 (page number is at the bottom of each web page). * For Figure 4, go to the very last, whose caption is at web page 4. (ii) Naturally each controller has one mutation, not all five at the same time. apparently one mutation at the five critical points is enough to protect a controller. As for how (whether the mutation foils or facilitates presentation of a peptide), the (Science) article does not say--it is for another day. (iii) If you are a layperson (as opposed to a trained biologist), you will not be able to read the Science article. The Globe report is easy enough for ordinary people.
I do not know if you can go to the "full text." I do not know because I am at a library whose subscriptionallows it to access teh magazine online for free. I'd like to copy it for you (I do not think the magazine would mind). But there are three pages of authorship (with affiliation), occupying slightly less space than the article (text + illustration). My estimation is about 150-200 authors.
【在 y******8 的大作中提到】 : How many authors are there?
f*g
14 楼
Those authors are affiliated with 218 organizations. You can guess how many authors there are. With Genome-wide association studies, they identified 313 SNPs associated with HIV control. Further they ascribed these SNP associations to specific aminio acids, mostly within HLA-B, which affect HLA-peptide conformation. But these amino acids are just assoicated with the HIV control, which does not necessarily mean one would be elite controller if they contain one or all the above amino acids in the particular positions.
c*i
15 楼
Thanks for your comment. Though I was trained as a biologist, it was two decades ago. It is hard for me to imagine the study would be such a big task . The second/final portion ("Further * * *") of your commentary hints of a functional study for the mutated amino acids? I am sure they had a head start on this already.
many Further they ascribed these SNP associations to specific
【在 f*******g 的大作中提到】 : Those authors are affiliated with 218 organizations. You can guess how many : authors there are. : With Genome-wide association studies, they identified 313 SNPs associated : with HIV control. Further they ascribed these SNP associations to specific : aminio acids, mostly within HLA-B, which affect HLA-peptide conformation. : But these amino acids are just assoicated with the HIV control, which does : not necessarily mean one would be elite controller if they contain one or : all the above amino acids in the particular positions.