Mission

Overview​

Current treatments for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection involve antiretroviral drugs such as nucleoside-based analogs acting as reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Although effective for viral inhibition, these drugs also cause adverse side effects, including oxidative stress from high mitochondrial toxicity and a consequential increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS). To mitigate the side effects, we propose to explore antioxidant supplements derived naturally from antioxidant-rich plants, starting from the herb Thymus vulgaris. This study will determine the antioxidant’s ability to reduce ROS and cell death in tenofovir disoproxil fumarate-treated cells. Completion of this study could provide insightful data that may facilitate the application of the supplements in clinical settings to reduce adverse effects of similar diseases and drug treatments. 

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Rationale

Drug: 

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate is a commonly used NRTI medication for HIV. However, it has many documented side effects, including nephrotoxicity and bone density issues. While the cause of these side effects is not clear, drugs of the NRTI class are known to induce mitochondrial toxicity and increased oxidative stress, and we will use Tenofovir as a representative inducer of the side effects seen in many HIV treatments. 

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Antioxidant: 

Thymus vulgaris is a common herb with well-documented antioxidant activity from its many bioactive components, the most prevalent of which being thymol and carvacrol. It is a strong candidate for use as an antioxidant in this study due to the breadth of research of its medicinal use and chemical compounds as well as its accessibility to the general public. 

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Methodology:
We will be performing our experiment in vitro. More details coming soon!