Human therapeutic targets projects . EG s technology is the most direct and rapid method to identify the genes responsible for these differences. HIV is known to have originated in chimpanzees before crossing over to human populations and hepatitis C virus appears to have followed a similar route to humans. Chimpanzees are resistant to progression to full-blown AIDS when infected with HIV and do not experience the severe symptoms that humans can experience when infected with hepatitis C. EG s unique technology can elucidate the mechanisms for chimpanzee resistance to these viruses, to identify novel targets for the development of new therapeutics targeted to host proteins. We believe therapeutics to host targets should be less susceptible to drug evasion resulting from viral mutations.
Chimpanzees also are less susceptible than humans to hormone-dependent cancers.
The evidence is most compelling for prostate cancer. Authorities in the field believe the difference in susceptibility has a genetic basis, and cannot simply be explained by differences in diet. Elucidation of the genetic basis for the difference in susceptibility to prostate cancer could provide novel targets for prostate cancer therapeutics. Evolutionary Genomics has conducted a pilot project on AIDS, looking at 80 proteins reported in the literature to play a role in progression from infection to full-blown AIDS in humans. Company scientists compared chimpanzee homologues of the genes encoding these proteins to the respective human gene and identified five chimpanzee genes that had the characteristic sequence pattern reflecting adaptation to a strong selective pressure.