Tag Archives: HIV

HIV can be effectively suppressed using antiretroviral therapy but surges back once therapy is stopped. Latent reservoirs of infected cells, invisible to the body’s immune system and impervious to drugs, cause the infection to rebound if therapy is terminated. Researchers at Rockefeller University (New York, NY) led by Michel Nussenzweig designed a new, two-part strategyContinueContinue reading “Induce HIV to neutralize HIV”

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is normally treated with antiretroviral compounds that suppress virus levels, which can improve quality of life and extend lifespan for affected individuals. But because these compounds do not eliminate the virus from the body, people with HIV must take them throughout their lifetimes in order to maintain their health. Eradication ofContinueContinue reading “Immunotoxin targets HIV-infected cells”

Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), is thought to cause permanent infection that may be controlled by antiretroviral therapies but not eliminated. A recent study, however, led by Louis Picker (Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton) showed immune clearance of highly pathogenic SIV infection in rhesus macaques (Nature doi:10.1038/nature12519; published online 11ContinueContinue reading “Vaccine clears SIV in rhesus macaques”

At first blush, the idea that hibernation and treatment of HIV infection have common characteristics seems unconventional at best. But a collaboration between scientists Carol Meteyer from the US Geological Survey (Madison, WI) and Daniel Barber and Judith Mandl of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Bethesda, MD) has produced evidence thatContinueContinue reading “Immune recovery after hibernation and HIV infection”

A new treatment for AIDS has shown promise in controlling the infection in macaques. The new technique is a form of immune therapy that uses the subject’s own blood cells. Cells are exposed to proteins extracted from the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV, which is similar to the human version, HIV) in vitro and then infusedContinueContinue reading “Training cells to control AIDS”