Research News 7
Research News
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Risks and Potential Benefits of Participating in Cure Research
Perceptions of cure trial participants concerning personal and community risks and benefits are relevant to such studies and have received little attention.
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Immunotherapy Targeting HIV Reservoirs
Research Question CAR T cell therapy, which uses T cells that have been engineered to target specific proteins, has revolutionized the treatment of some blood cancers. Yet success in HIV has lagged and several challenges remain. For example, how can we ensure that the CAR T cells go to the areas where they are needed?…
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New amfAR Grants Target Intersection HIV and COVID-19
amfAR Fund to Fight COVID-19 researchers investigate “long-haulers” and the effect of coronavirus on the HIV reservoir, the main barrier to a cure.
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Remembering Dr. Joseph Sonnabend, Early Pioneer on AIDS
Dr. Sonnabend was a co-founder of the AIDS Medical Foundation, amfAR’s predecessor.
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Prospects for an HIV/AIDS Cure: Opinions of People with HIV and Their Healthcare Providers
The authors concluded that educational strategies tailored specifically to each group are required to increase understanding of HIV cure research and the role of ATI.
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amfAR Invests in “Next Generation” HIV Cure Intervention
Newly funded amfAR grantee Dr. Jerome Zack borrows from cancer research by investigating modified natural killer CAR-T cells to cure HIV.
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Mining the Blood for Markers of the Reservoir
The authors concluded that “the development of these tools may represent simple biomarkers for the rapid evaluation of changes in viral replication outside of the blood and changes in the reservoir size.”
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HIV Reservoirs in the Blood and Gut Respond Differently to Virus Activators
The authors conclude that “it will be critical to evaluate the efficacy of LRAs in both blood and tissues” in order to develop more effective therapeutics in HIV cure strategies.
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The Past, Present, and Future of HIV Reservoir Cells
Research Question The HIV reservoir consists of HIV-infected cells that are difficult to characterize because to date they have been indistinguishable from uninfected cells. Once the HIV inside infected cells is activated, many of the surface and interior characteristics change. While activated reservoir cells are easier to identify and isolate from blood samples, these fundamental…
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A Conversation with the San Francisco Patient
Loreen Willenberg is an elite controller (EC) – one of the rare individuals who control HIV infection without antiretroviral therapy. ECs were recently described in new and unprecedented detail in the prestigious journal Nature. Loreen was among the ECs the researchers studied. For all intents and purposes, she may be considered “cured” of HIV. Loreen…
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Molecular Pathways to an HIV Cure
The authors concluded that the differences they identified “could provide the HIV cure field with vital biological clues into the molecular pathways involved in viral persistence.”
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New Study Takes Deep Dive into Elite Control
Armed with this new vision of what one kind of cure might look like, researchers will now aim to induce the immune systems of non-controllers to bring about the same result.
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Research Update: Pioneering Clinical Trial Gets Underway
A unique and potentially groundbreaking clinical trial led by researchers at the amfAR Institute for HIV Cure Research is underway. The first participant received the first injection on August 13. The study will test a combination of agents in an effort to induce post-treatment control in people living with HIV. The complex, multi-stage trial is…
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Exploring Cell Proteins That Block HIV
Research Question Evolution has insured that many mammals—from mice to humans—have cell proteins that can prevent infection by certain viruses, including HIV. One of the most potent of these proteins, identified two decades ago, is APOBEC3G. Unfortunately for humans, HIV has evolved protection—a viral protein that prevents APOBEC3G from attacking HIV in humans, though not…
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How Does the Immune System Recover After a Stem Cell Transplant?
Based on a small number of patients, “highlights how little we know about the clinical course post-transplant for HIV-positive persons,” arguing for more research focused on this population.