Nutriovia

HIV is a virus that attacks the cells of the body fighting infections, weakening the immune system. Antiretroviral therapies can treat HIV infection by stopping the propagation of the virus and protecting the immune system, but do not heal the virus. Mount Sinai researchers have developed a method to genetically mark immune cells that wear HIV, an important step that could potentially lead to approaches that eliminate cells infected with dormant HIV and cure the virus.

The team has created a new model of cell line tracing to reveal where the virus hides and has developed genetic profiles of T cells, or white blood cells which are crucial for the immune response and keep active or inactive HIV. Researchers said their genetic analysis of dormant HIV infected with a new gene way for potential treatment.

“The main obstacle to cure infection is virus skins in immune cells that are difficult to identify and study. If we can identify the cells infected with HIV, this will help us to come together at Mount Sinai.

The researchers developed a genetic system to mark the cells infected with HIV, then study the populations of infected and dormant cells. They used humanized mouse models to develop a red fluorescent switch with green triggered by HIV infection that persists even if the virus is dormant. This switch leads to permanent marking of cells infected with HIV in mice and allows the line of the HIV infection. The research team has profiled more than 47,000 T cells, including infected, treated and non-infected cells, to then identify the auxiliary T cells (which detect infections), memory cells, naive cells (which fight infections), proliferating cells, regulatory T cells and subsets within these larger groups. Thanks to their analysis, they predicted and identified nine distinct types of T cells which sheltered the cells of inactive HIV. Their investigation also identified persistent T cells with HIV even after 10 and 29 days of antiretroviral therapies.

The results suggest new therapies that target the cells infected with dormant HIV as potential healing for the virus. The Mount Sinai team will then study and test specific approaches to reactivate sleeping HIV and determine if it is possible to reduce the infected cell reservoir.

The study was supported by the financing of the National Institute of Infectious Allergies and Diseases and the National Institutes of Health (AI116191, AI162223, S10OD026880 and S10OD030463), and the subsidy of clinical and translational sciences (CTSA).

HIV is a virus that attacks the cells of the body fighting infections, weakening the immune system. Antiretroviral therapies can treat HIV infection by stopping the propagation of the virus and protecting the immune system, but do not heal the virus. Mount Sinai researchers have developed a method to genetically mark immune cells that wear HIV, an important step that could potentially lead to approaches that eliminate cells infected with dormant HIV and cure the virus.

The team has created a new model of cell line tracing to reveal where the virus hides and has developed genetic profiles of T cells, or white blood cells which are crucial for the immune response and keep active or inactive HIV. Researchers said their genetic analysis of dormant HIV infected with a new gene way for potential treatment.

“The main obstacle to cure infection is virus skins in immune cells that are difficult to identify and study. If we can identify the cells infected with HIV, this will help us to come together at Mount Sinai.

The researchers developed a genetic system to mark the cells infected with HIV, then study the populations of infected and dormant cells. They used humanized mouse models to develop a red fluorescent switch with green triggered by HIV infection that persists even if the virus is dormant. This switch leads to permanent marking of cells infected with HIV in mice and allows the line of the HIV infection. The research team has profiled more than 47,000 T cells, including infected, treated and non-infected cells, to then identify the auxiliary T cells (which detect infections), memory cells, naive cells (which fight infections), proliferating cells, regulatory T cells and subsets within these larger groups. Thanks to their analysis, they predicted and identified nine distinct types of T cells which sheltered the cells of inactive HIV. Their investigation also identified persistent T cells with HIV even after 10 and 29 days of antiretroviral therapies.

The results suggest new therapies that target the cells infected with dormant HIV as potential healing for the virus. The Mount Sinai team will then study and test specific approaches to reactivate sleeping HIV and determine if it is possible to reduce the infected cell reservoir.

The study was supported by the financing of the National Institute of Infectious Allergies and Diseases and the National Institutes of Health (AI116191, AI162223, S10OD026880 and S10OD030463), and the subsidy of clinical and translational sciences (CTSA).

HIV is a virus that attacks the cells of the body fighting infections, weakening the immune system. Antiretroviral therapies can treat HIV infection by stopping the propagation of the virus and protecting the immune system, but do not heal the virus. Mount Sinai researchers have developed a method to genetically mark immune cells that wear HIV, an important step that could potentially lead to approaches that eliminate cells infected with dormant HIV and cure the virus.

The team has created a new model of cell line tracing to reveal where the virus hides and has developed genetic profiles of T cells, or white blood cells which are crucial for the immune response and keep active or inactive HIV. Researchers said their genetic analysis of dormant HIV infected with a new gene way for potential treatment.

“The main obstacle to cure infection is virus skins in immune cells that are difficult to identify and study. If we can identify the cells infected with HIV, this will help us to come together at Mount Sinai.

The researchers developed a genetic system to mark the cells infected with HIV, then study the populations of infected and dormant cells. They used humanized mouse models to develop a red fluorescent switch with green triggered by HIV infection that persists even if the virus is dormant. This switch leads to permanent marking of cells infected with HIV in mice and allows the line of the HIV infection. The research team has profiled more than 47,000 T cells, including infected, treated and non-infected cells, to then identify the auxiliary T cells (which detect infections), memory cells, naive cells (which fight infections), proliferating cells, regulatory T cells and subsets within these larger groups. Thanks to their analysis, they predicted and identified nine distinct types of T cells which sheltered the cells of inactive HIV. Their investigation also identified persistent T cells with HIV even after 10 and 29 days of antiretroviral therapies.

The results suggest new therapies that target the cells infected with dormant HIV as potential healing for the virus. The Mount Sinai team will then study and test specific approaches to reactivate sleeping HIV and determine if it is possible to reduce the infected cell reservoir.

The study was supported by the financing of the National Institute of Infectious Allergies and Diseases and the National Institutes of Health (AI116191, AI162223, S10OD026880 and S10OD030463), and the subsidy of clinical and translational sciences (CTSA).