Their purpose in life is to capture the enemy, bring it to the lymph node -- the command center -- and present it to the general, the T cell, to activate a battle plan. It's a very efficient system that has allowed us to survive many insults, pathogens and viruses.

CSA-54 killed a wide range of HIV isolates, and completely blocked genetically engineered HIV that enters the cells independent of the cell surface receptor the virus normally uses.

We have some preliminary but very exciting results. But we would like to formally show this before making any claims that would cause unwanted hype.

If we are able to learn the mechanisms these peptides are using to kill HIV, it might be possible to make small chemical molecules that achieve the same results. This study is a great example of how collaboration across disciplines leads to big discoveries.