Current HIV Research - Volume 11, Issue 8, 2013

HIV infection is characterized by aberrant B cell responses and B cell dysfunction. These dysfunctional responses have been extensively documented in peripheral blood and organized lymphoid tissues such as the lymph nodes. Though the loss of CD4 T cell help has been thought to play a key role in dysfunctional B cell responses, recent studies have implicated a subset of CD4 T helper cells called the T follicular help Read More

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was discovered 30 years ago and was followed by the identification and characterization of its causative agent, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Increasing spread of retroviral infections has impelled science to understand the evolution of retroviruses from primates to humans. In the course of evolution, host cells have developed intracellular proteins to counteract the tr Read More

Antigen-presenting viral vectors have been extensively used as vehicles for the presentation of antigens to the immune system in numerous vaccine strategies. Particularly in HIV vaccine development efforts, two main viral vectors have been used as antigen carriers: (a) live attenuated vectors and (b) virus-like particles (VLPs); the former, although highly effective in animal studies, cannot be clinically tested in humans d Read More

To export intron-containing viral mRNAs that encode the structural components of new viral particles from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, HIV-1 uses the cellular CRM1 export pathway that is exploited by the viral Rev protein. Rev multimerizes on the Rev response element (RRE) present in the intron-containing RNA species to bridge these to the cellular export factor CRM1. As a result, this Rev-RRE complex is exported to the cyt Read More

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) have been isolated from both HIV-positive and non-HIV diarrheal samples. In this study a collection of 18 isolates from these two groups were compared for biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance and for the presence of 14 virulence-related genes. All the HIV-positive and over 66% of the non- HIV strains were PCR-negative for adhesion-related sequences indicating that as yet unkno Read More

Objectives: The aim of the study was to identify variables that can influence atazanavir plasma concentration. Methods: We retrospectively analysed atazanavir trough concentration of HIV infected patients who performed therapeutic drug monitoring between October 2007 and July 2011. Qualitative variables were compared with X2 test while continuous ones with Mann-Whitney and Student’s t-test. A linear regressi Read More

Cryptococcus neoformans is an important cause of morbidity in HIV-infected patients worldwide. In the northern region of Brazil, the prevalence of this infection is poorly known due to a lack of systematic investigations. This study aimed to determine the occurrence of cryptococcosis by detecting antigenaemia in HIV-infected patients in the State of Pará, Brazil. A latex Cryptococcus antigen detection kit was used to test 4 Read More

This is a retrospective study based on surveillance of Human Immunodeficiency Virus type-1 (HIV-1) positive pregnant women and their children in China’s Zhejiang Province. HIV counseling and testing, mother and infant characteristics, and outcomes are reported here. This study compares two principal periods, the period from 2007-2009 and the period from 2010 to 2013. The average rate of HIV counseling among pregna Read More