Therapy
The AuRx herpes therapy is thought to work via cell-mediated immunity (CMI), which involves antigen-specific T cells. After being activated by antigens presented in appropriate accessory cells, soluble mediators are released which produce a response cascade leading to lysis of the infecting cells. In the specific instance of herpesvirus infections, the virus usually invades, establishes an infection and causes disease before it can be eliminated by the patient's immune responses. It is believed that CMI responses play a primary role in the body's defenses against HSV infections. Compared with the body's natural responses to pathogens in real life, recombinant therapy offers a preemptive means of generating a CMI response.
The AuRx therapy has been genetically engineered to remove a potentially cancer-provoking oncogene from the virus. This HSV-2 virus has been attenuated to prevent the outbreak of disease in previously uninfected individuals.
In animal tests, the recombinant therapy stimulated an immune response which protected mice from herpes when they were infected with a disease producing HSV-2. Subsequent trials in guinea pigs (a superior animal model) confirmed the protection against infection by disease producing HSV-2. Still more guinea pig trials have now shown that the recombinant virus is therapeutic. That is, it prevented lesions from reappearing (recurring) in animals previously infected with disease producing herpesvirus.
Since there is a 50% similarity (genetic homology) between HSV-l and HSV-2, it is likely that the vaccine will also confer significant protection against infection with HSV-1 and may prevent its recurrence as well .