T-Peptide (TP)

Peptide T is an HIV entry inhibitor discovered in 1986 by National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers. Peptide T, and its modified analog Dala1-peptide T-amide (DAPTA), a drug in clinical trials, is a short peptide derived from the HIV envelope protein gp120 which blocks binding and infection of viral strains which use the CCR5 receptor to infect cells. Peptide T has several positive effects related to HIV disease and Neuro-AIDS. A placebo-controlled, three site, 200+ patient NIH-funded clinical trial, which focused on neurocognitive improvements, was conducted between 1990 and 1995. The results showed that peptide T was not significantly different from placebo on the study primary end points. However, peptide T was associated with improved performance in the subgroup of patients with more severe cognitive impairment.