Receptors on the surface of immune system cells, called cell-surface receptors, are used by HIV for attachment, thus enabling the virus to infect healthy cells. Research demonstrated that Glycosides significantly reduces or inhibits attachment (or docking) by blocking these cell-surface receptors. Cell-surface receptors are critical for disease progression. Blocking or decreasing the attachment should result in slowing disease progression and reduce the number of new viruses produced by infected cells.

 

*T-cells (T-lymphocytes) protect through cell-mediated immunity *B-cells (B-lymphocytes) protect through production of antibodies In a series of experiments to determine the influence of Glycosides on the immune system, laboratory research demonstrated that Glycosides causes an increase in the number of T-cells and B-cells. This effect of growth in the number of cells is referred to as mitogenesis. This mitosis generating (or mitogen) activity of Glycosides on immune cells (T and B) works alone,without additional factors or co-factors. Glycosides has been shown in laboratory cell cultures to cause spleen cells to increase in number by 50-fold. For example, 100 cells cultured in Glycosides alone increase to approximately 5,000 cells. This mitogenic effect by Glycosides could increase the number of T-cells and B-cells in HIV patients.

 

	TNF-α is a cell protein that increases in inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and may predict and/or profile inflammatory disease progress. Increases in TNF-α levels are linked to disease progression in HIV. Glycosides is highly effective in reducing TNF-α levels. This capacity of Glycosides could limit or slow disease progression in HIV.

 

Glycosides tested to be moderately anti-viral in laboratory research. This finding was proven in HIV clinical studies on humans. Glycosides, in combination with spleen-derived peptides, cleared leukoplakia (an abnormal condition in which thickened white patches of skin cells occur on the mucous membranes, as of the mouth, that is associated with Epstein-Barr virus and HIV infection) and genital warts (caused by human papilloma virus).

 

	Glycosides demonstrated a marked increase (up to 300-fold) in expression of heat shock proteins (hsp's). Heat shock proteins are very protective generally to the human immune system. HIV compromises the immune system, and the action of heat shock proteins is highly important in defending against immune assault