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AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 22. Epub 2019 Apr 22.

International AIDS Society, 503988, Geneva, Switzerland ;

The HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P) conference is dedicated to advancing HIV prevention research, responding to a growing consensus that effective and durable prevention will require a combination of approaches as well as unprecedented collaboration among scientists, practitioners and community workers from different fields and geographic areas. The conference theme in 2018, "From Research to Impact", acknowledged an increasing focus on translation of promising research findings into practical, accessible and affordable HIV prevention options for those who need them worldwide. HIVR4P 2018 was held in Madrid, Spain, on 21-25 October, with over 1,400 participants from 52 countries around the globe, representing all aspects of HIV prevention research and implementation. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 19. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India ;

A cross sectional study was undertaken to examine the prevalence and pattern of HIV drug resistance mutations among recently HIV-1 infected and antiretroviral therapy-naïve individuals from Chennai, South India. The HIV-1 Pol gene encompassing the Protease and Reverse Transcriptase (RT) regions were analysed from 53 ART -naïve HIV-1 infected individuals using an in-house method for identifying drug resistance mutations by genotyping. The overall prevalence of transmitted drug resistance (TDR) was found to be 11. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 18. Epub 2019 Apr 18.

Eastern Virginia Medical School, 6040, OB/GYN - CONRAD , 1911 N Fort Myer Dr , Arlington, Virginia, United States , 22209 ;

Objective: Reproductive age women may choose to concurrently use topical anti-retrovirals (ARVs) and hormonal contraceptives (HC) to simultaneously prevent human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection and unintended/mistimed pregnancy. There are conflicting data on the effect of HCs on mucosal susceptibility to HIV-1. The objective of this study was to evaluate cervico-vaginal (CV) mucosal data from healthy women before and after initiation of either oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) or depot medroxyprogesterone acetate injection (DMPA). Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 16. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

University of Washington, Medicine , Harborview Medical Center, Box 359929 , 325 9th Avenue , Seattle, Washington, United States , 98104 ;

Multiple strategies to cure HIV infection are under investigation, including cell and gene therapy approaches. Research, and ultimately treatment, with these novel strategies will require patients' willingness to participate. To elicit the perspectives of people living with HIV (PLWH) specific to these novel approaches, we conducted four focus group discussions with a diverse group of 19 English-speaking men and women living with HIV in care at a large academic HIV clinic in the northwestern U. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 9. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Duke University, Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Durham, North Carolina, United States ;

Background: Little is known about longitudinal change in physical functioning of older African-American/Black and White HIV-infected persons.

Methods: We examined up to 10 years of data on African-American (N=1157) and White (N=400) men with HIV infection and comparable HIV-negative men (Ns: 1137, 530), age 50-91 from the Veterans Aging Cohort Study Survey sample. Physical functioning was assessed using the SF-12 physical component summary (PCS) score. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 5. Epub 2019 Apr 5.

138 Yixueyuan RoadShanghai, China , 200032 ;

Background: Increasing evidence show that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variations have an important effect on metabolic disorders, but none study has been conducted in HIV-infected patients in Asia. We investigated the distribution of mtDNA haplogroups and their correlation with metabolic disorders in HIV-infected patients.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was performed among 296 Chinese HIV patients aged over 40 years from a prospective HIV cohort. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 2. Epub 2019 Apr 2.

National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan ;

We developed a detergent-free enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for HIV-1 viral protein R (Vpr), an accessory protein of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV), and detected soluble Vpr in approximately 22% of HIV patients who were receiving combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) and were free of plasma HIV RNA. Notably, the levels of CD8-positive cell count, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2), all of which are markers of chronic inflammation in HIV patients, were higher in Vpr-positive patients than in Vpr-negative patients. Because sICAM1 and CCL2 are associated with an increased risk of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder, we propose that an established Vpr-ELISA would be useful for monitoring the risk of HIV complications during latent HIV-1 infection. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 2. Epub 2019 Apr 2.

Stellenbosch University, DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis, SACEMA, 19 Jonkershoek Road, 7600, South Africa ;

Background: Biomarkers for detecting early HIV infection and estimating HIV incidence should minimise False-Recent Rates (FRRs) while maximising Mean Duration of Recent Infection (MDRIs). We compared BED capture enzyme immunoassay (BED), Sedia Limiting Antigen Avidity EIA (LAg) and Bio-Rad avidity incident incidence (BRAI) assays using samples from Zimbabwean postpartum women infected with clade C HIV.

Methods: We calculated MDRIs using 590 samples from 351 seroconverting postpartum women, and FRRs using samples from 2,825 women known to be HIV-positive for >12 months. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 29. Epub 2019 Mar 29.

Walk In Ruhr Center for sexual health and medicine, Dermatology, Bochum, Germany ;

Retroviral coinfections with HIV-1/HTLV-1 or HTLV-2 occur with variable frequencies world-wide and despite an increased risk for development of neurologic complications including TSP/HAM, leukemia, lymphoma and other neurological disorders in such coinfection scenarios, their global and regional surveillance outside the context of research has steadily declined coincidental to the post-HAART era. Therefore, we thought it relevant to ascertain the prevalence of HTLV-1/2 among HIV positive individuals as HTLV/HIV coinfection is reported among patients involved in high risk behaviors. Towards this, we estimated the co-prevalence of HIV and HTLV-1/2 in a German cohort of Caucasian individuals through random sampling and additionally reviewed epidemiological data of HTLV prevalence among the general German population. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 29. Epub 2019 Mar 29.

Zunyi City Bo Zhou DistrictZunyi, China , 563000 ;

A novel HIV-1 second-generation recombinant form (CRF01_AE/CRF07_BC) was isolated from an HIV-positive subject among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Guizhou province in Southwest China. Recombinant analyses of the near full-length genome (NFLG) suggested that the strain was composed of CRF01_AE and CRF07_BC with one region of CRF07-BC inserted into a CRF01-AE backbone. Further analysis indicated that the CRF01_AE regions of the recombinant were highly clustered together with a subcluster 4 lineage of CRF01_AE, which is exclusively circulating among MSM in China. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 29. Epub 2019 Mar 29.

Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology , 20 Dongda Street , Fengtai District , Beijing , Beijing, China , 100071 ;

Jiangsu province has severe HIV-1 epidemic in China. Suqian which is located in north of the province has limited HIV epidemic information. Therefore, the current work aimed to characterize the epidemic details in the area. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 26. Epub 2019 Mar 26.

Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, "Lluita contra la Sida" Foundation. HIV unit , Carretera de Canyet sn , Badalona, Barcelona, Spain , 08916 ;

Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of darunavir/cobicistat (DRV/c) monotherapy as an antiretroviral treatment simplification strategy in HIV-infected patients already on suppressive darunavir/ritonavir (DRV/r) monotherapy in routine clinical practice. We conducted a retrospective multi-centre study including all adult patients switched from DRV/r monotherapy to DRV/c monotherapy while HIV-1 RNA was <50 copies/mL and who had at least one follow-up visit. The primary endpoint was the percentage of patients remaining free of treatment failure (TF), defined as discontinuation of monotherapy for any reason, including loss of follow-up. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 23. Epub 2019 Mar 23.

University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Infectious Diseases , 1300 N. Mission Road , 5P21 Rand Schrader Clinic, room 349 , Los Angeles , California, United States , 90033 ;

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate-emtricitabine (TDF-FTC) reduces bone mineral density in HIV-uninfected men who have sex with men (MSM). We hypothesized that PrEP with TDF-FTC would increase bone turnover markers (BTMs) at week 24 and that vitamin D supplementation from week 24 to 48 would blunt this increase. Participants were from a cohort of 398 MSM and transgender women who received daily TDF-FTC for PrEP. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 20. Epub 2019 Mar 20.

Seattle Childrens Research Institute, Pediatrics, Seattle, Washington, United States.

Introduction: Identifying tissue sources of HIV that rebound following "failure" of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is critical to evaluating cure strategies. To assess the role of the uterine cervix and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) as viral reservoirs, nearest-neighbor phylogenetic analyses compared genetic relatedness of tissue sequences during ART-suppression to those detected in plasma at viral rebound.

Methods: Blood and genital tract specimens from a natural history cohort of HIV-infected women were collected over five years. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 16. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

1 Department of Infectious Diseases, General University Hospital of Alicante, Alicante, Spain.

The reported prevalence of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders in HIV people depends on the population studied and the methodology used. We analyze the prevalence of neurocognitive impairment (NCI) and associated factors in patients on successful antiretroviral therapy (ART), without comorbidities. Cross-sectional observational study in HIV subjects, ≥18 years old, on stable ART, and HIV viral load of <50 copies/mL. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Curtin University, 1649 , Kent street , Perth, Western Australia, Australia , 6845 ;

Background: HIV patients responding to antiretroviral therapy (ART) have a high burden of CMV and display accelerated cardiovascular change assessed systemically. We assessed the effects of HIV, ART and CMV on retinal arteries calibers (RAC), as a non-invasive measure of vasculopathy in HIV patients beginning ART.

Methods: We analysed 79 HIV patients beginning ART in Jakarta, Indonesia, with a median (range) age of 31(19-48) years. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 16. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

1 Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska.

Variations in the HIV genome influence HIV/AIDS epidemiology. We report here a novel HIV-1 unique recombinant form (URF) isolated from an HIV-infected female (NACMR092) in Cameroon, based on the analyses of near-full-length viral genome (partial gag, full-length pol, env, tat, rev, vif, vpr, vpu, and nef genes, and partial 3'-long terminal repeat). Phylogeny, recombination breakpoints, and recombination map analyses showed that NACMR092 was infected with a mosaic URF that had eight breakpoints (two in gag, one in pol, one in vpr, two in env, and two in the nef regions), nine subgenomic regions, and included fragments that had important similarities with HIV-1 subtypes A1, CRF02_AG, and CRF01_AE. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 11. Epub 2019 Mar 11.

Radiology Department, Hebei General Hospital, Hebei, China.

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 5. Epub 2019 Mar 5.

Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York.

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 3. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

1 Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) and PML immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (PML-IRIS) can be devastating neurological processes associated with HIV, but limited knowledge of their characteristics in the established antiretroviral therapy (ART) era is available. We conducted a case series to evaluate the clinical course of PML and PML-IRIS at our urban safety-net hospital in Atlanta, GA. All HIV-positive individuals with a positive John Cunningham virus DNA polymerase chain reaction in the spinal fluid between May 1, 2013 to June 1, 2017 were identified from the electronic health records (EHRs) using the HIV Disease Registry. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 3. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

2 Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.

Four cases infected by HIV-1 subtype G strain were identified in Guangdong, China. The nearly full-length genome was amplified and sequenced for phylogenetic analysis. The four sequences clustered together with subtype G references in the tree (bootstrap value ≥98%). Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 16. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

1 State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.

We report here a novel HIV-1 recombinant form detected from a married HIV-positive man infected through homosexual behavior in Zhejiang, China. The breakpoint analysis of near full-length genome demonstrated a complex genome organization comprising two circulating recombinant forms (CRFs), CRF01_AE and CRF07_BC, both well-known CRFs in China. The parental CRF01_AE region (II) of recombinant clustered together with a previously reported cluster 4 lineage. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 19. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

1 Department of Immunology and Serology and National AIDS Research Institute, Pune, India.

The polymorphisms in Toll-like receptor (TLR) 7 and 9 genes are shown to influence HIV-1 infection. We studied HIV-1-infected Indian individuals for presence and association of TLR7 and 9 gene polymorphism with different disease outcomes. Genomic DNA from 65 HIV-infected individuals (35 long-term nonprogressors and 30 progressors) and 89 uninfected healthy donors was isolated, amplified, and sequenced for the reported polymorphisms in TLR7 [Gln11Leu (A/T); rs179008] and TLR9 (1635A/G; rs352140) genes. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 10. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

6 Departments of Laboratory Medicine, Pathology and Medicine, The University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California.

The HIV envelope protein contains five hypervariable domains (V1-V5) that are fundamental for cell entry. We contrasted modifications in the variable domains derived from a panel of 24 tissues from 7 subjects with no measurable plasma viral load (NPVL) to variable domains from 76 tissues from 15 subjects who had a detectable plasma viral load (PVL) at death. NPVL subject's V1 and V2 domains were usually highly length variable, whereas length variation in PVL sequences was more conserved. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 26. Epub 2019 Mar 26.

4 The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Kaili, Guiyang, China.

We identified a novel CRF01_AE and 07_BC HIV-1 recombinant form in Guizhou province in southwest China. The phylogenetic analysis of the near full-length sequence reveals that it was divided into five segments by four breakpoints, and the CRF01_AE regions of the recombinant were clustered with subcluster 4 lineage of CRF01_AE, which mainly circulated among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China. The CRF07_BC regions of the recombinant were clustered with CRF07_BC lineage, which circulated among Chinese MSM. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 4. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

1 Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.

HIV-1 subtype C (HIV-1C) is responsible for the majority of infections in sub-Saharan Africa. We selected 63 plasma-derived samples and generated long terminal repeats (LTRs) amplicons from people living with HIV in South Africa to identify transcription factor binding sites. NF-κB plays an important role in regulating the viral gene expression from the viral promoter and controlling viral latency. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 19. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

1 School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.

We report here a novel human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) second-generation recombinant form comprising CRF01_AE and CRF07_BC isolated from an HIV-positive male subject infected among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Tianjin in north China. The phylogenetic analysis of the near full-length genome of TJIH0345 reveals that three regions of CRF01_AE were inserted into the CRF07_BC backbone with five recombinant breakpoints observed in the pol, vif, vpu, and env gene regions whose genome structure is distinctly different from other circulating recombinant forms and unique recombinant forms previously reported. The continued emergence of the novel recombinant strain in Tianjin, China, highlights the increasing complexity of the HIV-1 epidemic among the MSM population, and further molecular epidemiological investigation should be done to track the genetic evolution of HIV-1 strains to prevent HIV transmission. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 8. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

2 Department of Medicine, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, India.

The Indian national AIDS control program heavily relies on low cost nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI). With global increase in resistance to these, alternative antiretroviral combinations need to be explored. Owing to higher potency, better efficacy and tolerability, recently WHO recommended integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) based first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART). Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 4. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

1 Centre for HIV and STIs, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) protease sequences from 2,225 protease inhibitor (PI)-naïve HIV-1 subtype C-infected individuals collected over a 14-year period were analyzed for polymorphisms. Over 50% of sequences differed from an HIV-1 subtype B consensus sequence at 8 of the 99 amino acids at residues 12, 15, 19, 36, 41, 69, 89, and 93, but not in the functionally important regions. The frequency of primary resistance and accessory mutations occurred in <1% of the sequences. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 4. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

1 Pediatric Infectious Diseases, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio.

The mechanisms causing HIV-associated immune activation remain incompletely understood. Alteration of intestinal integrity with subsequent translocation of bacterial products appears to play an important role; however, little is known about the impact of fungal translocation. We assessed the effect of fungal translocation and its association with immune activation in people living with HIV (PLWH) compared with uninfected controls. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 4;35(4):357-358. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

4 Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 5. Epub 2019 Mar 5.

1 Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia de Agentes Infecciosos e Parasitários, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Brazil.

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 13;35(4):361-363. Epub 2019 Mar 13.

1 Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.

Digital pills, gelatin capsules with radiofrequency transmitters activated by stomach chloride ions, directly measure antiretroviral therapy adherence. In individuals with substance use disorders and HIV, real-time nonadherence detected by digital pills creates a platform to deliver substance use and adherence interventions. In this study, we determined the bioequivalence of tenofovir (TFV), administered as tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) in healthy human volunteers administered a commercial drug product and a digital pill formulation. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 5. Epub 2019 Mar 5.

1 HIV Drug Resistance Laboratory, ICMR-National AIDS Research Institute, Pune, India.

HIV-2 is important due to its unique challenges in diagnosis, treatment, and drug resistance. The data on Indian HIV-2 pol gene as well as resistance to antiretroviral drugs are limited. Here we report sequence data of protease (PR) and reverse transcriptase (RT) genes from HIV-2 infected treatment naive individuals (N = 32) from Maharashtra, India. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 7. Epub 2019 Mar 7.

2 Department of AIDS Research, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China.

High level of HIV prevalence was found in some specific areas or populations in China. Shijingshan district was one of the areas with rapid increase of newly reported HIV cases in Beijing, China. Comprehensive investigation on HIV genetic characteristics is necessary in the district. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Feb 20. Epub 2019 Feb 20.

5 Research Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, University College London, London, United Kingdom.

We assessed whether HIV status was associated with white matter hyperintensities (WMH), a neuroimaging correlate of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), in men aged ≥50 years. A cross-sectional substudy was nested within a larger cohort study. Virologically suppressed men living with HIV (MLWH) and demographically matched HIV-negative men aged ≥50 underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 3 Tesla. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

2 Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.

Analysis of viral genetic linkage can reveal generalized transmission patterns within a population. The HIV Prevention Trials Network 061 study evaluated HIV incidence among black men who have sex with men. HIV genotypes from 169 men who were HIV infected at enrollment and 23 men who seroconverted during the study were analyzed for genetic linkage. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar;35(3):219-228

30 Disease Elimination Program, Life Sciences Discipline, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia.

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common yet poorly understood vaginal condition that has become a major focus of HIV transmission and immunology research. Varied terminologies are used by clinicians and researchers to describe microbial communities that reside in the female reproductive tract (FRT), which is driven, in part, by microbial genetic and metabolic complexity, evolving diagnostic and molecular techniques, and multidisciplinary perspectives of clinicians, epidemiologists, microbiologists, and immunologists who all appreciate the scientific importance of understanding mechanisms that underlie BV. This Perspectives article aims to clarify the varied terms used to describe the cervicovaginal microbiota and its "nonoptimal" state, under the overarching term of BV. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

1 AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Frederick, Maryland.

Persistence of replication-competent viral reservoirs during infection remains a barrier to HIV cure, despite the ability of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) to effectively suppress viral replication. Simian-tropic HIV (stHIV) is a minimally chimeric HIV-1 that is comprised of 94% HIV-1 sequence, contains HIV-1 drug and immunologic targets, and is capable of replicating to high levels and causing authentic HIV-like pathogenesis leading to clinical AIDS in pigtail macaques. Suppression of stHIV replication by cART provides a model for study of viral reservoirs and HIV-specific intervention strategies targeting them. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Feb 27. Epub 2019 Feb 27.

1 Department of Pediatrics, Advance Pediatric Centre, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.

Lymphocyte subsets of long-term non-progressor (LPNT) HIV-infected children is a less studied aspect of HIV infection. Evaluation of different lymphocyte subsets was done in HIV-infected children ≥8 years of age. Subjects were divided in two groups-group 1 (LTNP), treatment-naive with CD4 ≥ 500 cells/μL (n = 20); group 2, non-long-term non-progressor (nLTNPs) receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) with CD4 count ≤500 on at least one occasion (n = 21). Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 7;35(3):326-334. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

1 Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Ex vivo explant models are used to characterize in vitro efficacy of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) agents. Tissue is challenged with virus in culture and HIV-1 p24 levels are quantified with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) on supernatants collected throughout a 14-21-day incubation. Due to the narrow dynamic range of HIV-1 p24 kits, we evaluated whether droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) provides an alternative method to quantify HIV-1 replication in supernatant samples. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Feb 14. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

1 Department of Virology and Centre Pasteur of Cameroon, Member of the International Network of Pasteur Institutes, Yaounde, Cameroon.

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 4;35(3):251-259. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

3 Department of Medicine, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, District of Columbia.

A rise in new HIV diagnoses among older adults is characterized by poor prognosis and reduced survival times. Although heterosexual transmission remains the main route of infection in women, little is known regarding immune functions in the genital tract of postmenopausal women, especially those who are HIV positive. Furthermore, effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on the genital tract immune system are unclear. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Feb 6. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

1 Department of Biotechnology, Dr. Harisingh Gour University, Sagar, India.

Human T lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) causes adult T cell leukemia and lymphoma and other neuroinflammatory diseases. The pX region of HTLV-1 genome encodes an accessory protein p30 that is required for viral persistence and spread in the host. p30 regulates viral gene expression at the transcription level by competing with Tax for p300 binding and at posttranscriptional level by nuclear retention of tax/rex messenger RNA (mRNA). Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Apr 20;35(4):388-392. Epub 2019 Feb 20.

5 Department of Immunology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand and National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa.

HIV infection was previously considered an exclusion criterion for renal dialysis and transplant. Recent research has prompted policy changes, allowing for transplantation in this subgroup of patients. Theoretical risks with transplantation include the immune dysregulation associated with post-transplantation immunosuppression and immune activation with possible organ rejection. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Feb 28. Epub 2019 Feb 28.

3 Department of AIDS/STD, Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, China.

We hypothesized that PD-1expressed by regulatory T cells (Tregs) would be functional and their expression levels may associate with activation status of CD4 T and CD8 T cells and the disease progression of HIV-1-infected patients. To prove it, we dynamically examined PD-1 expression levels by Tregs in peripheral blood of HIV-1-infected individuals not receiving antiretroviral therapy. Eighty-one HIV-1-infected individuals not undergoing antiretroviral therapy and 22 HIV-1-seronegative donors were enrolled in our study. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 7;35(3):260-266. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

1 Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois.

It remains unclear whether differences in gut microbiota noted between HIV-infected and uninfected individuals are driven by HIV or sexual behavior. We evaluated rectal swab microbiota of HIV-infected and uninfected women with similar demographic, neighborhood, and diet characteristics enrolled in the Chicago Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS). DNA was amplified for sequencing of fragments of bacterial small subunit (SSU or 16S) ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Feb 27. Epub 2019 Feb 27.

2 Departments of Pharmacy and Research, Stratton Veterans' Affairs Medical Center, Albany, New York.

Persons living with HIV (PLWH) are at an increased risk of contraindicated drug-drug interactions (XDDIs), which may result in deleterious outcomes. Study objectives were to (1) compare the frequency of hospitalizations between patients with and without XDDIs and (2) determine if XDDIs are independently associated with hospitalizations in PLWH. A retrospective cohort study was performed among PLWH receiving care at the Upstate New York Veterans' Healthcare Administration or University of New Mexico Truman Health Services from 2000 to 2013. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Mar 4;35(3):287-294. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

2 Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology, Hawaii Center for AIDS, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii.

HIV-positive individuals are at increased risk for precancerous anal squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs). Anal cytology and digital rectal examination are performed as screening tools, but extensive training and appropriate instruments are required to follow up on an abnormal anal cytology. Thus, novel approaches to SIL evaluation could improve better health care follow-up by efficient and timely diagnosis to offer treatment options. Read More