HIV News and Research

RSS

Theta Supercomputer Used To Find Essential Factors That Control Structural Change of HIV Protease

Every disease has a protein basis. For some diseases, like HIV, changes in protein structure are critical for how the virus infects a person's cells.

20 Jun 2023

Microglial Cells Serve as a Stable Viral Reservoir for Latent HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV) introduces a copy of its DNA into human immune cells as part of its life cycle. Some of these newly infected immune cells can subsequently enter an inactive, latent state for an extended length of time, which is known as HIV latency.

19 Jun 2023

Fungal Invasion Threatens Amphibian Biodiversity in North America

According to recent studies, the amphibian biodiversity could suffer greatly if the fungus infection Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) were introduced to North America.

15 Jun 2023

The New Player in ALS—An Ancient, Virus-Like Protein

ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is a deadly neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, progressively robbing individuals of their capability to speak, move, eat, and breathe.

8 Jun 2023

Identifying Drugs to Put the Brakes On Accelerated Aging From HIV Infection, Treatment

Antiretroviral cocktails can make human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, undetectable and untransmittable, but both the virus and its treatment can also accelerate aging of bone and muscle.

24 May 2023

Novel Gene-Editing Strategy Harnesses Unusual Protective Ability to Eliminate HIV-1 Infection

Genetic alterations that give rise to a rare, fatal disorder known as MOGS-CDG paradoxically also protect cells against infection by viruses.

22 May 2023

New Approach Could Power the Development of Advanced Cell Therapies

A new approach to the genetic engineering of cells promises significant improvements in speed, efficiency, and reduction in cellular toxicity compared to current methods.

2 May 2023

The Pivotal Role of Combinatorial CRISPR Gene Editing in the Elimination of HIV-1 Infection

Recent research from Temple University’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center demonstrates that gene-editing therapy aimed at two targets - HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS, and CCR5, the co-receptor that aids the virus getting into cells—can effectively eliminate HIV infection.

2 May 2023

New Peptide Blocks a Hyperactive Brain Enzyme Involved in Neurodegeneration

MIT neuroscientists have found a way to reverse neurodegeneration and other symptoms of Alzheimer's disease by interfering with an enzyme that is typically overactive in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

17 Apr 2023

Attacking the HTLV-1 Virus With the Help of Special Gene Scissors

HTLV-1 triggers aggressive forms of leukemia or an incurable spinal cord disease that leads to paralysis: the virus is the often ignored but no less insidious sibling of the HIV virus that causes AIDS and also belongs to the family of retroviruses.

6 Apr 2023

Novel inhibitor, hopeaphenol, blocks HIV expression

In the United States, around 1.2 million people are living with HIV as of 2022. Many of these people can now live productive, symptom-free lives thanks to antiretroviral therapies, but a solution that permanently removes HIV from an infected person’s body is still a long way off.

30 Mar 2023

Myeloid cells contribute to a long-lived HIV reservoir, study shows

A subset of white blood cells, known as myeloid cells, can harbor HIV in people who have been virally suppressed for years on antiretroviral therapy, according to findings from a small study supported by the National Institutes of Health.

28 Mar 2023

Monocytes harbor stable HIV DNA capable of infecting neighboring cells

To develop treatments that may one day entirely rid the body of HIV infection, scientists have long sought to identify all of the places that the virus can hide its genetic code.

28 Mar 2023

Study describes why COVID-19 subvariants accelerated the pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has killed nearly 7 million people worldwide (1.1 million in the United States) and severely harmed many millions more, though vaccines and antiviral treatments measurably reduced the potential loss of life and health.

23 Mar 2023

Novel tool analyzes how immune cells respond to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination

A study discovered that the magnitude and quality of a key immune cell’s response to two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were significantly lower in individuals with earlier SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to individuals without previous infection.

21 Mar 2023

New study pinpoints key source of T cell "exhaustion"

Custom-made to attack cancer cells, CAR T-cell therapies have opened a new era in the treatment of human cancers, particularly, in hematologic malignancies.

21 Mar 2023

Effective backup mechanism ensures efficient antimicrobial responses in humans

In the human body, virus particles are identified by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) either within or on the cell surface. When a receptor is activated, a signaling cascade is initiated, which results in the production and release of signaling molecules like interferons and cytokines.

14 Mar 2023

Study explores factors associated with parents' acceptance of SGM adolescents using PrEP

Since its approval in 2012, HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, has shown promise in reducing HIV infection rates by preventing infection in high-risk HIV-negative people. However, research shows that only around three percent of sexual and gender minority (SGM) adolescents who are eligible for PrEP have used it.

2 Mar 2023

Study identifies cell type crucial for successful immunotherapies for chronic viral infections

An international study led by researchers from the Infection Biology Laboratory at the UPF Department of Medicine and Life Sciences (MELIS) establishes that one type of dendritic cells is crucial for the success of immunotherapeutic treatments to control chronic viral infections.

17 Feb 2023