Trim5, then siglecs, now LEDGF (p75)

The repeated failure of HIV vaccines in humans after they have proven effective in other primates provides ample evidence that the nonhuman primate model is itself a tragic and miserable failure in vaccine development. Yet the animal trials continue while all the world holds its breath waiting for vaccines and cures as the death toll rises.

Why have these vaccines failed in humans? One team suggested that differences between monkeys and humans for the gene TRIM5-alpha played an important role. A few months later, we learned about critical differences between nonhuman primates and humans with respect to "siglecs," proteins which serve as the "brakes" on the immune system. And now, just a few short days ago, yet another set of investigators has found another critical difference : HIV uses a specific human protein (LEDGF-p75) to copy itself into the host genome and create an untouchable resevoir of its own genetic code.

Despite all of these differences, and this latest evidence of a human-specific disease mechanism, thousands of monkeys are being tortured and killed right now in government-funded experiments of SIV and SHIV.

ScienceDaily: Mayo Researchers Discover HIV Dependence On A Human Protein