Research News 7
Research News
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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.
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Why Do HIV Reservoirs Persist After Stem Cell Transplants?
Researchers studied 16 HIV-positive individuals on ART who underwent stem cell transplants.
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Does ART Adequately Reach Tissue Reservoirs of HIV?
This may contribute to the persistence of HIV reservoirs and viral rebound during analytic treatment interruption.
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Probing the Provirus
The decrease in intact provirus could suggest that despite potent ART, the immune system might be able to differentiate between cells infected with intact provirus and those with defective provirus.
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New Methods to Reverse HIV Latency
Immune checkpoint blockade is “an attractive option” to move into the clinic, as both a potential method of reversing the latent state of HIV and a strategy to boost T cell activity against HIV.
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Biomarkers May Point to Post-Treatment Control
Finding biomarkers that can predict post-treatment control without the need for treatment interruption is a priority for the HIV cure field, not least because this could help protect partners from unnecessary exposure to the virus.
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New amfAR Grants Advance HIV Cure and Post-Treatment Studies
New amfAR grants support third phase of bioengineering projects using nanotechnology and protein “fingerprinting” in efforts to cure HIV.
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amfAR Researchers Unable to Find HIV In London Transplant Patient
A stem cell transplant patient from London has not experienced a rebound of his HIV during the past 18 months off antiretroviral therapy (ART).