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NEW YORK, Mar 01, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- New York University researchers say they've found it is possible to interfere with herpesvirus latency with a substance found in licorice: glycyrrhizic acid.
Ornella Flore and colleagues from New York University School of Medicine say they have show, for the first time, it is possible to interfere with herpesvirus latency by inhibiting the expression of Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpes virus -- KSHV -- latent genes. KSHV is the virus that is associated with Kaposi sarcoma, a disease characterized by tumors in tissues below the surface of the skin. Kaposi sarcoma is often found in patients suffering from immuno deficiencies such as HIV and AIDS.
Glycyrrhizic acid represents the first example of an anti-viral agent that specifically targets the expression of a herpesvirus gene required to maintain the virus in the latent state, according to Flore.
The findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
