(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-03-18 23:55

LONDON  -- A kind of protein called zinc-finger proteins which can turn genes on and off permanently may transform treatment of HIV/AIDS, heart disease and diabetes, British newspaper The Times reported on Tuesday.

Sangamo BioSciences, a company in California, has already developed several drugs based on the zinc-finger proteins discovered and named in 1985 by Aaron Klug of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England, The Times said.

"We can use this technique to change the function of a single gene permanently. The beauty of zinc-finger nuclease lies in their simplicity. Where other methods are long, arduous and often messy, it is relatively easy to switch off genes using this method," Klug was quoted as saying.

The first Sangamo drugs designed to target genes have begun clinical trials in the United States on patients with arterial disease and diabetes-induced nerve damage.

The most advanced of the drugs uses a zinc-finger nuclease - an enzyme - to treat diabetic neuropathy, a common complication of diabetes that causes nerve damage and pain. The drug binds to a gene called VEGF-A, known to protect the nervous system, and switches it on to prevent nerve damage. Phase 2 trials of the drug are underway.

The same gene is also being targeted to treat peripheral arterial disease, which causes blocked arteries in the limbs. A zinc-finger drug that has started safety trials aims to stimulate VEGF-A activity, which can promote the growth of new arteries.

According to the report, a third trial for HIV is due to begin within months.

If the trial is successful, scientists predict that the technique could change the way many diseases are treated, making genetic therapies a routine part of medicine for the first time.

Klug said that in the longer term, a similar approach might be used to grow new blood vessels in the heart.