THINPAD

Prof. Maurizio Botta

Scientific Coordinator of THINPAD, based at the University of Siena, Italy

Research field

Virology

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Who?

Professor Botta observes the world through the eyes of a chemist. "I believe that everything is made of molecules", he says, "and my belief is that organic molecules are the key to developing a therapy against infectious diseases such as AIDS". His team is searching for molecules to fight HIV and anti-HIV drug resistance.

Why?

AIDS is one of the most serious pandemic diseases of the modern era. Therapies based on the interruption of the HIV replication cycle exist, but these therapies fail increasingly often due to the emergence of drug resistance. Hence, there is an urgent need for novel drugs and alternative therapeutic strategies.

What?

The objective of THINPAD is to discover innovative anti-HIV agents. Professor Botta: “We develop drugs that target a protein in the shell of HIV. This protein is essential for HIV replication, so it is the Achilles' heel of the virus. We expect that HIV cannot become resistant to drugs that target this essential protein.”

How?

The THINPAD consortium brings together five teams at the forefront of HIV research. The teams are made up of two small to medium-sized enterprises in the fields of molecular biology and pharmaceutics and three academic research groups, including hospitals. The teams are located in three different EU member states.

Attacking the shell of HIV to fight drug resistance

HIV entering T cells; understanding viral entry into body cells is an essential step towards preventing HIV infection

Image credit: R.Sougrat et al PLoS Pathog. 2007 3(5):e63

Scanning electron micrograph of HIV particles (yellow) infecting a human T cell (blue and green)

Image credit: National Institutes of Health

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THINPAD project website University of Siena European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control : HIV infection and AIDS World Health Organization: Q&A about HIV/AIDS IHIVARNA (another European effort to fight AIDS) In Focus article 'Off the beaten tracks'

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Background image: C. Goldsmith, P. Feorino, E. L. Palmer, W. R. McManus, CDC

Portrait of the project coordinator: THINPAD

Timeline (in chronological order): 1983: C. Goldsmith, P. Feorino, E. L. Palmer, W. R. McManus, CDC; 1996: Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation; 2012: worldaidsday.org