US Pharm. 2013;38(1):7.
New York, NY—The HIV drug maraviroc could be a potential treatment for Staphylococcus aureus infections, according to researchers at NYU School of Medicine. C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5), which HIV uses to enter T cells in order to replicate and cause infection, has been found to be essential to the ability of certain Staphylococcus (staph) strains to kill CCR5-containing cells, which execute an immune response against the bacteria. When cells with CCR5 were treated with maraviroc and then exposed to LukED, the staph toxin that destroys CCR5 cells, the drug completely blocked LukED’s toxic effects. The goal of blocking the toxin with maraviroc or other agents is to enable the immune system to better control the infection.
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