Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service, Grant Application

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA at BERKELEY
BERKELEY * DAVIS * IRVINE * LOS ANGELES * RIVERSID E * SAN DIEGO * SAN FRANCISCO SANTA BARBARA * SANTA CRUZ
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology Phone: [phone]
c/o Stanley/Donner Administrative Services Unit Fax: [phone]
229 Stanley Hall E-mail: [email protected]
Berkeley, CA 94720
26 August 1993
Study Section
National Institute on Drug Abuse
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857
Dear Colleague:
As editor of Science, I have been following the debate over AIDS etiology for
years, from shortly after the time Luc Montagnier and Robert Gallo published
their original findings on HIV in Science, to the recent arguments of my colleague,
Peter Duesberg, that HIV is not the cause. I have even published coverage of this a
debate, including exchanges between the two sides.
As an observer, I have in the past been critical of Duesberg for not suggesting
experiments to resolve this controversy. However, he has now answered my call
with a proposal to test the role of nitrite inhalants as a cofactor in AIDS.
Certainly this idea seems intuitively to have merit, as nitrites have long been
known for their potent mutagenic and carcinogenic effects. He plans to extend
some unfinished work by other laboratories in the mid-1980s on mice, examining
the physiological and immunological effects of long-term (six months or more)
exposure to volatile nitrites. While the early research yielded promising results,
including evidence of immunotoxicity, it was never properly confirmed or
followed up.
Duesberg's proposal is a specific, workable one that will be done in collaboration
with an inhalation toxicologist at the University of California, Davis. I believe
this research would add much to our understanding of AIDS, and I have told
Duesberg that I would consider such data important material for readers of
Science if it develops appropriately..Duesberg's obstacle at this point is his lack of funding for the project. But given
the critical information that would be generated by such a study, regardless of its
outcome, I believe the time has come for this experiment to be performed. I trust
that you will take into consideration, the pressing nature of the AIDS epidemic,
the number of inhalant takers and the importance of the give-and-take that forces
scientists constantly to check and re-check their conclusions.