Although huge strides have been made with antiretroviral therapy (ART) and prevention since HIV was first reported 42 years ago, there is still not an effective preventive vaccine or a scalable cure for those living with HIV. But broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) look to be a further step down the pathway to a cure, speakers said during the International AIDS Society meeting held July 23 to 26 in Brisbane, Australia.
The HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) mediates cell entry and is the target of the host humoral immune response. Functional Env is a trimer of noncovalent gp120-gp41 heterodimers. Rational trimer design has transformed the HIV-1 vaccine research field and has helped understand Env structure and immunogenicity. Uncleaved prefusion-optimized (UFO) trimers have been shown to stabilize diverse HIV-1 Env glycoproteins.
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. researchers have patented targeted activator of cell kill (TACK) compounds acting as Gag polyprotein (HIV-1)/protein Pol dimerization inducers and thus reported to be useful for the treatment of HIV infection.
Although COVID-19 may be more severe in people with HIV (PWH), the underlying biological mechanisms among PWH treated with antiretroviral therapy (ART) remain largely unknown.
HIV infects immune cells, mainly CD4+ T cells. But they are not the only ones. It also settles in the genome of myeloid cells, monocytes or macrophages. According to a study from Johns Hopkins University, the viral DNA inserted into myeloid cells is functional. The virus also reactivated from the monocyte-derived macrophage reservoir. New cure strategies need to take these cells into account to eradicate the virus from the body.
The mechanisms behind the mortality associated with early antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatment in children infected perinatally with HIV are poorly understood. Researchers sought to find potential biomarkers associated with the increased mortality. They created three groups of subjects: deceased (dead HIV+, n=20), nondeceased HIV+ (HIV+, n=59) and healthy controls (n=13).
Researchers from IrsiCaixa Institute for AIDS Research presented data from a study that aimed to identify biomarkers associated with virus control during monitored antiretroviral pause (MAP) in patients with HIV.
A lot of focus has been put on targeting T-cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains (TIGIT) for HIV infection treatment, but no attention has been given to targeting its ligand, CD155.
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