Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

FASEB J 2019 Apr 25:fj201801165R. Epub 2019 Apr 25.

Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, Jupiter, Florida, USA.

The HIV-1 transactivation protein (Tat) binds the HIV mRNA transactivation responsive element (TAR), regulating transcription and reactivation from latency. Drugs against Tat are unfortunately not clinically available. We reported that didehydro-cortistatin A (dCA) inhibits HIV-1 Tat activity. Read More

CRISPR J 2018 Aug;1:294-302

1 School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Chronic human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) disease is characterized by the retention of provirus within latently infected cells. Anti-HIV-1 CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing is an attractive strategy to excise or inactivate the HIV-1 genome. Recent strategies have focused on designing gRNAs that target the long terminal repeat (LTR) because 5' and 3' LTR symmetry can facilitate proviral excision. Read More

J Neurovirol 2019 Apr 24. Epub 2019 Apr 24.

Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA.

Astrocytes are susceptible to HIV infection and potential latent HIV reservoirs. Tat is one of three abundantly expressed HIV early genes in HIV-infected astrocytes and has been shown to be a major pathogenic factor for HIV/neuroAIDS. In this study, we sought to determine if and how Tat expression would affect HIV infection and latency in astrocytes. Read More

Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2019 Apr 24. Epub 2019 Apr 24.

Unità di Medicina Rigenerativa ed Immunologia, Fondazione Ri.MED c/o IRCCS-ISMETT, Via Ernesto Tricomi 5, 90127, Palermo, Italy.

Recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains expressing HIV antigens have shown promising pre-clinical results. Probiotic S. cerevisiae strains naturally induce gut immunity; thus, genetically engineered probiotic strains could be used to stimulate immune responses against HIV in the mucosa. Read More

J Immunol Res 2019 24;2019:9804584. Epub 2019 Mar 24.

Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d'Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses-Paris (CIMI-Paris), F-75013 Paris, France.

The design of immunogens susceptible to elicit potent and broadly neutralizing antibodies against the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) remains a veritable challenge in the course of vaccine development. Viral envelope proteins adopt different conformational states during the entry process, allowing the presentation of transient neutralizing epitopes. We focused on the highly conserved 3S motif of gp41, which is exposed to the surface envelope in its trimeric prefusion state. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019 Apr 24. Epub 2019 Apr 24.

Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106

Lentiviruses, including HIV-1, possess the ability to enter the nucleus through nuclear pore complexes and can infect interphase cells, including those actively replicating chromosomal DNA. Viral accessory proteins hijack host cell E3 enzymes to antagonize intrinsic defenses, and thereby provide a more permissive environment for virus replication. The HIV-1 Vpr accessory protein reprograms CRL4 E3 to antagonize select postreplication DNA repair enzymes and activates the DNA damage checkpoint in the G2 cell cycle phase. Read More

Intervirology 2019 Apr 24:1-11. Epub 2019 Apr 24.

Guangxi Key Laboratory of AIDS Prevention and Treatment, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China,

Objectives: The epidemiological evidence is inconsistent about whether HIV-positive injection drug users (IDUs) are at higher risk of developing antiretroviral resistance than any other HIV-positive populations. This study aims to investigate and compare transmitted drug resistance (TDR) between IDUs and non-IDUs in Lingshan County, an HIV-hit region in Guangxi, China, where IDU and heterosexual transmission were the two dominant transmission routes and roughly equally contributed to the local HIV transmission.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among newly diagnosed and antiretroviral-treatment (ART)-naïve HIV-1 patients from Lingshan County. Read More

PLoS One 2019 24;14(4):e0216010. Epub 2019 Apr 24.

INSERM IAME UMR-S 1137, Université Paris Diderot, Paris, France.

Introduction: Limited "real life" data on raltegravir (RAL) use during pregnancy are available. Thus, we aimed at describing effectiveness and safety of RAL-based combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) in this setting.

Methods: HIV-1-infected women receiving RAL during pregnancy between 2008 and 2014 in ten French centers were retrospectively analysed for: (1) proportion of women receiving RAL anytime during pregnancy who achieved a plasma HIV-RNA (pVL) < 50 copies/mL at delivery, and (2) description of demographics, immuno-virological parameters and safety in women and new-borns. Read More

Proteins 2019 Apr 24. Epub 2019 Apr 24.

Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India, 400076.

HIV-1 is restricted in macrophages and certain quiescent myeloid cells due to a "Scorched Earth" dNTP starvation strategy attributed to the Sterile Alpha Motif and HD domain protein - SAMHD1. Active SAMHD1 tetramers are assembled by GTP-Mg+2-dNTP cross bridges and cleave the triphosphate groups of dNTPs at a K of ~ 10 uM, which is consistent with dNTP concentrations in cycling cells, but far higher than the equivalent concentration in quiescent cells. Given the substantial disparity between the dNTP concentrations required to activate SAMHD1 tetramers (~10 uM) and the dNTP concentrations in noncycling cells (~10 nM), the possibility of alternate enzymatically active forms of SAMHD1, including monomers remains open. Read More

Biomed Res Int 2019 19;2019:1341370. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

State Key Laboratory for Agrobiotechnology and Department of Microbiology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.

A novel lectin (ABL) was purified from the dried fruiting bodies of . An efficient 3-step purification protocol involved two consecutive steps of ion exchange chromatography on Q-Sepharose and SP-Sepharose and gel filtration by FPLC on Superdex 75. ABL is a monomeric protein with the molecular mass of 27. Read More

Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2019 Apr 3. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China. Electronic address:

Introducing purine bases to P2-ligands might enhance the potency of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 (HIV-1) protease inhibitory because of the carbonyl and NH groups promoting the formation of extensive H-bonding interactions. In this work, thirty-three compounds are synthesized and evaluated, among which inhibitors 16a, 16f and 16j containing N-2-(6-substituted-9H-purin-9-yl)acetamide as the P2-ligands along with 4-methoxylphenylsulfonamide as the P2'-ligand, display potent inhibitory effect on the activity of HIV-1 protease with IC 43 nM, 42 nM and 68 nM in vitro, respectively. Read More

BMC Health Serv Res 2019 Apr 24;19(1):240. Epub 2019 Apr 24.

Amhara Public Health Institute, P.O.Box 447, Bahir Dar, Amhara, Ethiopia.

Background: Clinical decisions depend on timely laboratory result reporting. The timeliness is commonly expressed in turnaround time and serves as a quality improvement tool to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the laboratory. According to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) guidelines, each laboratory shall establish turnaround times for each of its examinations that reflect clinical needs, and shall periodically evaluate whether or not it is meeting the established turnaround times. Read More

Molecules 2019 Apr 22;24(8). Epub 2019 Apr 22.

Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Rooms 10307, 10309, and 10315, 245 North 15th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA.

Small-molecule HIV-1 entry inhibitors are an extremely attractive therapeutic modality. We have previously demonstrated that the entry inhibitor class can be optimized by using computational means to identify and extend the chemotypes available. Here we demonstrate unique and differential effects of previously published antiviral compounds on the gross structure of the HIV-1 Env complex, with an azabicyclohexane scaffolded inhibitor having a positive effect on glycoprotein thermostability. Read More

Iran J Pharm Res 2018 ;17(Suppl2):65-77

Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Some new diazo incorporated coumarin compounds were designed and synthesized to evaluate their anti-HIV activity. Overall, compounds were active against HIV at 100 μM. Additionally, no cytotoxic effect was observed at this concentration. Read More

Chembiochem 2019 Apr 22. Epub 2019 Apr 22.

Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Kandasurugadai 2-3-10, Chiyoda-ku, 101-0062, Tokyo, JAPAN.

A 34-mer fragment peptide (C34) is contained in the HIV-1 envelope protein gp41. A dimeric derivative of C34 linked by a disulfide bridge in its C-terminus was synthesized and found to have potent anti-HIV activity, comparable to that of a previously reported pegylated dimer of C34REG. The downsizing of the linker moiety for dimerization was thus successful, and this result might shed some light on the mechanism of the suppression of 6-helical bundle formation by these C34 dimeric derivatives. Read More

Vox Sang 2019 Apr 22. Epub 2019 Apr 22.

Safety of Medicinal Products and Medical Devices, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Langen, Germany.

Background And Objectives: In Germany, in addition to standard blood donor screening, further mandatory tests were introduced for HCV-RNA, HIV-1-RNA and for anti-HBc. Screening for HBV-DNA is optional. This study investigates the benefits of these additional tests for the detection of HIV, HCV, and HBV infections among German blood donors. Read More

Mol Ther Oncolytics 2019 Sep 23;14:38-56. Epub 2019 Mar 23.

Human Antibody Lab, Innovation Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.

Despite the success of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to treat some disorders, the monospecific molecular entity of mAbs as well as the presence of multiple factors and pathways involved in the pathogenesis of disorders, such as various malignancies, infectious diseases, and autoimmune disorders, and resistance to therapy have restricted the therapeutic efficacy of mAbs in clinical use. Bispecific antibodies (bsAbs), by concurrently recognizing two targets, can partly circumvent these problems. Serial killing of tumor cells by bsAb-redirected T cells, simultaneous blocking of two antigens involved in the HIV-1 infection, and concurrent targeting of the activating and inhibitory receptors on B cells to modulate autoimmunity are part of the capabilities of bsAbs. Read More

Cureus 2019 Feb 7;11(2):e4034. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Internal Medicine, St. Barnabas Hospital, Bronx, USA.

Neurosyphilis (NS) is more frequently seen in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, especially those not on antiretroviral therapy or with a low CD4 cell count. Ocular syphilis is an unusual and early form of neurosyphilis. Lumbar puncture should be considered in all HIV infected patients who present with neurologic or ocular disease. Read More

J Am Chem Soc 2019 Apr 22. Epub 2019 Apr 22.

Lipooligosaccharides (LOS) from the bacterium Rhizobium radiobacter Rv3 are structurally related to antigenic mammalian oligomannoses on the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein spike that are targets for broadly neutralizing anti-bodies. Here, we prepared a hybrid structure of viral and bacterial epitopes as part of a vaccine design strategy to elicit oligomannose-specific HIV-neutralizing antibodies using glycoconjugates based on the Rv3 LOS structure. Starting from a Kdo2GlcNAc2 tetrasaccharide precursor, a central orthogonally protected mannose trichloroacetimidate donor was coupled to OH-5 of the innermost Kdo residue. Read More

Cells 2019 Apr 19;8(4). Epub 2019 Apr 19.

U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA.

Reduced risk of HIV-1 infection correlated with antibody responses to the envelope variable 1 and 2 regions in the RV144 vaccine trial. To understand the relationship between antibody responses, V2 sequence, and structure, plasma samples (n = 16) from an early acute HIV-1 infection cohort from Thailand infected with CRF01_AE strain were analyzed for binding to V2 peptides by surface plasmon resonance. Five participants with a range of V2 binding responses at week 24 post-infection were further analyzed against a set of four overlapping V2 peptides that were designed based on envelope single-genome amplification. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2019 Apr 20;20(8). Epub 2019 Apr 20.

Structural Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, College of Life Science & Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea.

HIV-1 integrase (HIV-1 IN) is an enzyme produced by the HIV-1 virus that integrates genetic material of the virus into the DNA of infected human cells. HIV-1 IN acts as a key component of the Retroviral Pre-Integration Complex (PIC). Protein dynamics could play an important role during the catalysis of HIV-1 IN; however, this process has not yet been fully elucidated. Read More

Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2019 Apr 20;12(2). Epub 2019 Apr 20.

Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.

One of the major factors contributing to HIV-1 drug resistance is suboptimal adherence to combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Currently, recommended cART for HIV-1 treatment is a three-drug combination, whereas the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) regimens consist of one or two antivirals. Treatment regimens require adherence to a once or twice (in a subset of patients) daily dose. Read More

AIDS 2019 Apr 16. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

Objectives: The goals of this study were to determine the frequency of traditional healer (TH) use among PLHIV in Senegal, to identify predictors of TH use, and to determine if TH use is associated with HIV outcomes.

Design: Prospective longitudinal study METHODS:: Subjects were enrolled from April 2017-April 2018 in Dakar and Ziguinchor, Senegal. Interviews, clinical evaluations, laboratory analyses, and chart review were conducted. Read More

Clin Pharmacol Ther 2019 Apr 21. Epub 2019 Apr 21.

Department of Internal Medicine, Meharry Medical College School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, efavirenz, is widely used to treat HIV-1 infection. Efavirenz is predominantly metabolized into inactive metabolites by CYP2B6, and patients with certain CYP2B6 genetic variants may be at increased risk for adverse effects, particularly central nervous system toxicity and treatment discontinuation. We summarize the evidence from the literature and provide therapeutic recommendations for efavirenz prescribing based on CYP2B6 genotypes. Read More

Neurochem Res 2019 Apr 20. Epub 2019 Apr 20.

Department of Pathophysiology, Key Laboratory of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Medical College of Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.

HIV-1 gp120, an important subunit of the envelope spikes that decorate the surface of virions, is known to play a vital role in neuronal injury during HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND), although the pathological mechanism is not fully understood. Our previous studies have suggested that the V3 loop of HIV-1 gp120 (HIV-1 gp120 V3 loop) can induce neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampus, resulting in impairment in spatial learning and memory in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. In this study, we demonstrated that autophagy was significantly increased in rat primary hippocampal neurons in response to treatment of HIV-1 gp120 V3 loop. Read More

EBioMedicine 2019 Apr 17. Epub 2019 Apr 17.

Laboratory of Molecular Virology, Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, USA. Electronic address:

Background: Accurate laboratory diagnosis of HIV is essential to reduce the risk of HIV-positive individuals transmitting HIV-1 infection. The goal of this study was to identify and assess a panel of host derived plasma miRNAs that could to serve as a prognostic and predictive biomarker to detect early/acute HIV-1 infection.

Methods: A total of 372 microRNAs were analyzed in nine plasma samples from HIV-1 infected individuals in the early phase of infection and three healthy controls using the miRNA PCR-array. Read More

PLoS One 2019 19;14(4):e0215377. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

Department of Clinical Microbiology, School of Medical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

Background: The study assessed the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection paradigm among the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients attending a tertiary hospital in Ghana. Also, the immunological and virological characterisation of these viruses, prior to antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation was investigated.

Method: A total of 400 HIV infected (HIV type-1) treatment naïve subjects ≥18 years were enrolled and tested for HBsAg and anti-HCV. 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

Psychiatry J 2019 13;2019:8306823. Epub 2019 Mar 13.

Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Science, Wolkite University, Wolkite, Ethiopia.

Background: Cognitive impairment among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients can lead to treatment nonadherence, faster progression of the illness, disability, and bed ridden state if we fail to detect it early. However, there is scarcity of previous published studies in Ethiopia on the assessment of cognitive impairment among HIV-positive patients. Hence, this study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of cognitive impairment among HIV-positive patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) at Jimma University Medical Center, Ethiopia. Read More

Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2019 3;9:91. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

Virology Laboratory, Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research, Discipline of Surgery, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are major contributors to the global disease burden with many experts recognizing the requirement of an effective vaccine to bring a durable end to these viral epidemics. The most promising vaccine candidates that have advanced into pre-clinical models and the clinic to eliminate or provide protection against these chronic viruses are viral vectors [e.g. Read More

Front Immunol 2019 2;10:677. Epub 2019 Apr 2.

Division of Vaccine Research of Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States.

Recent clinical trials and studies using nonhuman primates (NHPs) suggest that antibody-mediated protection against HIV-1 will require α-HIV envelope humoral immunity beyond direct neutralization to include Fc-receptor (FcR) mediated effector functions such as antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). There is also strong evidence indicating that the most potent ADCC response in humans is directed toward transitional non-neutralizing epitopes associated with the gp41-interactive face of gp120, particularly those within the first and second constant (C1-C2) region (A32-like epitopes). These epitopes were shown to be major targets of ADCC responses during natural infection and have been implicated in vaccine-induced protective immunity. Read More

Front Microbiol 2019 2;10:673. Epub 2019 Apr 2.

Laboratório de AIDS & Imunologia Molecular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Elite controllers (EC) are able to control HIV-1 replication to extremely low levels (<50 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL) in the absence of antiretroviral therapy. However, some EC experience CD4 T cell loss and/or lose their ability to control HIV-1 over the course of infection. High levels of HIV-1 proviral diversity, activated T cells and proinflammatory cytokines were pointed out as relevant biomarkers for detection of EC at risk of virologic/immunologic progression. Read More

Front Microbiol 2019 3;10:655. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

HIV Biology and Variability Unit, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.

In Western Europe, the HIV-1 epidemic among men who have sex with men (MSM) is dominated by subtype B. However, recently, other genetic forms have been reported to circulate in this population, as evidenced by their grouping in clusters predominantly comprising European individuals. Here we describe four large HIV-1 non-subtype B clusters spreading among MSM in Spain. Read More

Lancet HIV 2019 Apr 15. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

US Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, USA; Henry M Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD, USA; SEARCH, the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Center, Bangkok, Thailand; Department of Global Health, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Background: HIV-1-specific broadly neutralising antibodies such as VRC01 could promote HIV remission by halting viral replication and clearing infected cells. We investigated whether VRC01 could promote sustained viral control off antiretroviral therapy (ART) in adults who initiated ART during acute HIV infection.

Methods: We did a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre in Bangkok, Thailand. Read More

Am J Med Sci 2019 Mar 22. Epub 2019 Mar 22.

Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia. Electronic address:

Background: Individuals with HIV have ∼2-fold increased risk of developing pulmonary fibrosis. The mechanism(s) by which this occurs has yet to be determined. HIV-1 protein gp120 activates CXCR4 in the lymphocyte, promoting a variety of intracellular signaling pathways including those common to TGFβ1 associated with lung fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transdifferentiation. Read More

Int J STD AIDS 2019 Apr 4;30(5):486-495. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

1 Department of Clinical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.

In this study, we assessed if the superimposition of incident sexually transmitted infections (STIs) on HIV phylogenetic analyses could reveal possible sexual behaviour misclassifications in our HIV-infected population. HIV-1 sequences collected between 1997 and 2014 from 1169 individuals attending a HIV clinic in Antwerp, Belgium were analysed to infer a partial HIV transmission network. Individual demographic, clinical and laboratory data collected during routine HIV follow-up were used to compare clustered and non-clustered individuals using logistic regression analyses. Read More

Int J STD AIDS 2019 Apr 10;30(5):467-471. Epub 2019 Jan 10.

1 Infectious Diseases Unit, G.B. Rossi University Hospital, Verona, Italy.

Raltegravir (RAL) is an HIV-1 integrase strand transfer inhibitor that is well established as a component of highly active antiretroviral therapy regimens for the treatment of adults living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), due to its high virological efficacy and good tolerability profile. To date, limited data are available on the use of RAL with abacavir/lamivudine (ABC/3TC). We investigated retrospectively 62 HIV-1 infected patients managed by three Italian Infectious Diseases Outpatient Departments, including 57 treatment-experienced patients and 5 treatment-naïve patients, treated with ABC/3TC plus RAL. Read More

Brain Behav Immun 2019 Apr 16. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Center for Metabolic Disease Research, Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine, 3500 N Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140, United States; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine, 3500 N Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140, United States. Electronic address:

Varying degrees of cognitive deficits affect over half of all HIV-1 infected patients. Because of antiretroviral treatment (ART) regimens, the HIV-1 patient population is increasing in age. Very few epidemiological studies have focused on sex-specific differences in HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). Read More

Virus Res 2019 Apr 15;266:48-51. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

UNIR Health Sciences School & Medical Center, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address:

Background: Human retroviruses HIV and HTLV share transmission routes. HIV widely spread in Spain during the 80 s through injection drug use and sex, and nowadays HIV rates in Spain account for one of the largest in Europe. In contrast, HTLV-1 is not endemic in Spain, despite hosting huge numbers of migrants from highly endemic regions. Read More

PLoS One 2019 18;14(4):e0214800. Epub 2019 Apr 18.

Yunnan Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Kunming, Yunan, China.

Background: Prior to being spread throughout broader China, multiple human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 genotypes were originally discovered in the Yunnan Province. As the HIV-1 epidemic continues its spread in Yunnan, knowledge of the influence of gender, age, and ethnicity to instances of HIV reservoirs will benefit monitoring the spread of HIV.

Methods: The degree to which T cells are depleted during an HIV infection depends on the levels of immune activation. Read More

Pulm Circ 2019 Apr 18:2045894019848644. Epub 2019 Apr 18.

Clinical Pharmacology.

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

Medchemcomm 2019 Mar 14;10(3):390-398. Epub 2019 Jan 14.

Rega Institute for Medical Research , Department of Microbiology and Immunology , KU Leuven , 3000 Leuven , Belgium . Email:

Brazil has one of the largest biodiversities in the world. The search for new natural products extracted from the Brazilian flora may lead to the discovery of novel drugs with potential to treat infectious and other diseases. Here, we have investigated 9 lectins extracted and purified from the Northeastern Brazilian flora, from both leguminous species: (ConBr), (ConM), (DLasiL) and (DSclerL), and algae (AML), (BSL), (HML), (MEL) and (SfL). Read More

ACS Med Chem Lett 2019 Apr 7;10(4):463-468. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, "Department of Excellence 2018-2022", University of Siena, via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy.

Small molecule inhibitors of the HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein (NC) are considered as promising agents in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. In an effort to exploit the privileged 2-amino-4-phenylthiazole moiety in NC inhibition, here we conceived, synthesized, and tested 18 NC inhibitors (NCIs) bearing a double functionalization. In these NCIs, one part of the molecule is deputed to interact noncovalently with the NC hydrophobic pocket, while the second portion is designed to interact with the N-terminal domain of NC. Read More

Sci Rep 2019 Apr 17;9(1):6227. Epub 2019 Apr 17.

Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, PO Box 241, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa.

HIV-1 subtype C is the most prevalent subtype in South Africa. Although subtype B was previously detected in South Africa, there is limited sequence information available. We characterized near full-length HIV-1 subtype B sequences from samples collected at the start of the South African HIV-1 epidemic, in the 1980s. Read More

JCI Insight 2019 Apr 18;4(8). Epub 2019 Apr 18.

Laboratory of Immunoregulation, HIV Pathogenesis Section, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

Background: The goal of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is to suppress HIV-1 replication and reconstitute CD4+ T cells. Here, we report on HIV-infected individuals who had a paradoxical decline in CD4+ T cells despite ART-mediated suppression of plasma HIV-1 load (pVL). We defined such an immunological outcome as extreme immune decline (EXID). Read More

Biosci Rep 2019 Apr 17. Epub 2019 Apr 17.

The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, zhengzhou, China

NRON mediates the degradation of tat protein to participate in HIV-1 infection. Interesting, our study observed the downregulation of NRON in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) tissues compared with paired adjacent healthy tissues. In contrast, lncRNA snaR was upregulated in TNBC tissues and was inversely correlated with NRON. Read More

J Virol 2019 Apr 17. Epub 2019 Apr 17.

Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA

To better understand the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1), the genetic characteristics of male blood and genital viruses were compared to the imputed founding virus population in their female partners. Initially serodiscordant heterosexual African couples with sequence-confirmed male-to-female HIV-1 transmission and blood and genitial specimens near the time of transmission were studied. Single viral templates from blood plasma and genital tract RNA and DNA were sequenced across HIV-1 gp160. Read More

Viruses 2019 Apr 16;11(4). Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, 111123 Moscow, Russia.

Although HIV-1 subtype A has predominated in Russia since the end of the 20th century, other viral variants also circulate in this country. The dramatic outbreak of HIV-1 subtype G in 1988-1990 represents the origin of this variant spreading in Russia. However, full genome sequencing of the nosocomial viral variant and an analysis of the current circulating variants have not been conducted. Read More