It is a wet and slippery road ahead for the HIV-1 virus. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst found that the saliva of deer ticks contains protein which could prevent the dreaded virus from attaching to white blood cells or T cells.

White blood cells play a crucial role in protecting the body from various forms of bacteria and viruses. The saliva of deer ticks has Salp 15, a protein which binds to the CD4 receptor located on the surface of white blood cells.The CD4 region is the only site on the surface of T-cells to which the HIV-1 virus can attach. Once binded, the protein reconfigures the receptor's molecular dynamics making it inaccessible for other infectious agents.

Salp 15 could inhibit the attachment of HIV-1 virus by almost 70 percent at the highest concentration tested. According to Juan Anguita of the UMass Amherst Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, the protein could lead to new treatments that could stop the infection process before it begins. Salp 15 is one of the potential molecules being considered as entry-targeting inhibitors.

Anguita was also part of a study which showed that Salp 15 inhibited the development of asthma in mice by suppressing the action of T-cells. The study which was conducted in cooperation with the Vermont Lung Center and the University of Vermont studied a group of mice induced with asthma. Researchers found out that mice who received Salp 15 had airways that were less reactive and showed lower levels of biochemical markers that indicate a white blood cell response.

“Autoimmune diseases could be treated with fewer side effects using Salp 15 because its action is specific,” claims Anguita. “HIV-1 and transplant patients are on powerful medications for life, and most of these have secondary effects like nerve damage and liver problems,” he adds. Autoimmune disease and HIV patients could benefit from new treatments that the discovery of Salp 15 will bring.