Current HIV Research - Volume 6, Issue 5, 2008

A major obstacle in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) eradication is the ability of the virus to remain latent in a subpopulation of the cells it infects. Latently infected cells can escape the viral immune response and persist for long periods of time, despite the presence of successful highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Given the appropriate stimulus, latently infected cells can reactivate and start producing inf Read More

According to the World Health Organization's 2007 estimates, close to 33 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS. Over the past two decades, significant progress has been made in understanding HIV pathogenesis and disease progression, which has allowed the identification of a multitude of drug and vaccine targets. Although currently available drug therapies have greatly increased the time from HIV infection to Read More

In this review we summarize the data on interaction of platelets with HIV-1 infection. Thrombocytopenia is a common finding among HIV-1 infected patients; several combined factors contribute to low peripheral platelet counts, which are present during all the stages of the disease. In addition, a relationship between platelet count, plasma viral load and disease progression has been reported, and this shows the potential influence Read More

Despite an estimated 70,000 Indian children living with HIV infection, little is known about India's pediatric HIV epidemic. Generalizations about epidemiology, natural history, and treatment outcomes from other resource-limited settings (RLS) may be inaccurate for several biologic and social reasons. A review of the Indian literature is needed to optimize country-specific HIV management and examine these generalizations. M Read More

The parallel development of precise knowledge on NK cell receptors and on their function has considerably supported our understanding of the extension of their involvement during HIV-1 infection. The relevant reduction of NK cell function is dependent on well-described perturbations of their expression of specific receptors, leading not only to inhibition of their patrolling activity against invading pathogens, but also to alte Read More

Intrauterine transmission of HHV-6 is well established in immunocompetent women while few data are available on infections in babies born to HIV-positive mothers. To assess the rate of HHV-6 vertical transmission in comparison to CMV, we analyzed cord blood spots dried on cards (Dried Blood Spots, DBS) collected during a multi-center study on HIV congenital infections in Italy. DBS were tested by PCR for HHV-6 and CMV footpr Read More

Although it has been widely suggested that oxidative stress contributes to the pathogenesis of HIV infection, salivary composition and its oxidative related aspects have never been studied in HIV patients, both HAART-treated and untreated. Human saliva and serum were collected and analyzed for various biochemical, redox related and immunological parameters from 43 consenting HIV-infected patients (20 untreated and 23 tr Read More

The cell-mediated immune response to HIV-1 is an essential element of the mechanisms for viral replication control. Currently, most of the vaccine candidates in clinical trials were developed to stimulate HIV-1-specific CD8+ cytotoxic (CTL) and CD4+ T helper (Th) lymphocytes. We have been working on a novel approach to develop a vaccine formulation for HIV-1 using a recombinant multiepitopic protein (named CR3), which Read More

The serodiscordant couples, where the male is HIV-positive, are treated in fertility clinics, using the sperm washing technique by gradient centrifugation. This protocol cannot be carried out in oligo-azoospermic patients, where spermatozoa retrieval from the epididymis and testis must be performed. We developed a single sperm washing technique, where the spermatozoa, after the retrieval, are washed with the aid of Read More

Polymorphisms of chemokines and chemokine-receptors genes have been shown to influence the rate of progression to AIDS; however, their influence on response to HAART remains unclear. We investigated the frequency of the SDF-1-3'A, CCR2-64I, CCR5-D32 and CCR5-Promoter-59029-A/G polymorphisms in Brazilian HIV-1-infected and uninfected individuals and their influence on CD4+ T-cell evolution HIV-1 infected indi Read More

Etravirine demonstrates activity against NNRTI-resistant HIV-1 but its efficacy depends on the number of etravirine resistance-associated mutations (RAMs). This study aimed to evaluate the role of etravirine in the second regimen in a resource-limited setting. Genotype resistance assay was conducted in a cohort of HIV-infected patients who experienced virological failure from an initial NNRTI-based regimen. We focused on e Read More

To assess the correlation between HIV-1 RNA load in blood and semen by antiretroviral therapy status and the relative penetration of antiretroviral drugs in seminal plasma. We performed a cross-sectional cohort study of 119 HIV-1 subjects divided into three groups according to treatment status. Blood and semen were collected concurrently. Seminal viral load determined by NucliSens® HIV-1 QT PCR (BioMerieux). Viral sup Read More