Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Med Virol 2020 Jul 11. Epub 2020 Jul 11.

Center for Infectious Diseases, Beijing You'an Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

New approaches to increase HIV-1 testing and HIV-1 viral load (VL) monitoring are needed for people living with HIV (PLHIV) in China. The Xpert HIV-1 Viral Load (VL) assay was prequalified by World Health Organization in 2017 but has not been evaluated in China. A multicenter evaluation was conducted to assess the accuracy of the Cepheid Xpert HIV-1 VL assay compared to the Abbott RealTime HIV-1 assay in China. Read More

J Community Health 2020 Jul 10. Epub 2020 Jul 10.

Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA, 3033, USA.

HIV rapid testing algorithms (RTAs) using any two orthogonal rapid tests (RTs) allow for on-site confirmation of infection. RTs vary in performance characteristics therefore the selection of RTs in an algorithm may affect identification of infection, particularly if acute. National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) assessed RTAs among men who have sex with men recruited using anonymous venue-based sampling. Read More

Sci Rep 2020 Jul 10;10(1):11416. Epub 2020 Jul 10.

School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.

Normally, HIV-1 enters into CD4+ cells through membrane fusion, and newly synthesized HIV-1 viral proteins assemble on the plasma membrane to form viral particles and bud out. In the previous study, we found host factor coiled-coil domain containing protein 8 (CCDC8) can strongly inhibit HIV-1 production, but the underline mechanism is not clear. Here we show that overexpression of CCDC8 reverses the normal HIV-1 production process, and causes newly assembled HIV-1 Gag particles to be endocytosed on the plasma membrane, rather than budding out. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020 Jul 10. Epub 2020 Jul 10.

Institute of Clinical and Molecular Virology, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany

Mobile genetic elements have significantly shaped our genomic landscape. LINE-1 retroelements are the only autonomously active elements left in the human genome. Since new insertions can have detrimental consequences, cells need to efficiently control LINE-1 retrotransposition. Read More

Fluids Barriers CNS 2020 Jul 10;17(1):42. Epub 2020 Jul 10.

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, 144 College Street, Room 1001, Toronto, ON, M5S 3M2, Canada.

HIV associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) are the spectrum of cognitive impairments present in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). The number of patients affected with HAND ranges from 30 to 50% of HIV infected individuals and although the development of combinational antiretroviral therapy (cART) has improved longevity, HAND continues to pose a significant clinical problem as the current standard of care does not alleviate or prevent HAND symptoms. At present, the pathological mechanisms contributing to HAND remain unclear, but evidence suggests that it stems from neuronal injury due to chronic release of neurotoxins, chemokines, viral proteins, and proinflammatory cytokines secreted by HIV-1 activated microglia, macrophages and astrocytes in the central nervous system (CNS). Read More

Retrovirology 2020 Jul 10;17(1):20. Epub 2020 Jul 10.

Division of Infection & Hematopoiesis, Joint Research Center for Human Retrovirus Infection, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, 860-0811, Japan.

Background: HIV-1 promotes the formation of tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) that connect distant cells, aiding cell-to-cell viral transmission between macrophages. Our recent study suggests that the cellular protein M-Sec plays a role in these processes. However, the timing, mechanism, and to what extent M-Sec contributes to HIV-1 transmission is not fully understood, and the lack of a cell line model that mimics macrophages has hindered in-depth analysis. Read More

EBioMedicine 2020 Jul 7;57:102871. Epub 2020 Jul 7.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY 10065, United States. Electronic address:

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020 Jul 9. Epub 2020 Jul 9.

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250;

Selective packaging of the HIV-1 genome during virus assembly is mediated by interactions between the dimeric 5'-leader of the unspliced viral RNA and the nucleocapsid (NC) domains of a small number of assembling viral Gag polyproteins. Here, we show that the dimeric 5'-leader contains more than two dozen NC binding sites with affinities ranging from 40 nM to 1.4 μM, and that all high-affinity sites ( ≲ 400 nM) reside within a ∼150-nt region of the leader sufficient to promote RNA packaging (core encapsidation signal, Ψ). Read More

AIDS Res Ther 2020 Jul 9;17(1):38. Epub 2020 Jul 9.

Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nagasaki University Hospital, Sakamoto 1-7-1, Nagasaki City, Nagasaki, 852-8501, Japan.

Background: Vacuolar encephalomyelopathy, a disregarded diagnosis lately, was a major neurological disease in the terminal stages of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection in the pre-antiretroviral therapy (ART) era. Granulomatous-lymphocytic interstitial lung disease (GLILD) was classically identified as a non-infectious complication of common variable immunodeficiency; however, it is now being recognized in other immunodeficiency disorders. Here, we report the first case of GLILD accompanied by vacuolar encephalomyelopathy in a newly diagnosed HIV-infected man. Read More

J Infect Dis 2020 Jul 9. Epub 2020 Jul 9.

Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health and Health Professions and College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.

Background: Persons living with HIV (PWH) with resistance to antiretroviral therapy (ART) are vulnerable to adverse HIV-related health outcomes and can contribute to transmission of HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) when non-virally suppressed. The degree to which HIVDR contributes to disease burden in Florida -the US state with the highest HIV incidence- is unknown.

Methods: We explored sociodemographic, ecological, and spatial-temporal associations of HIVDR. Read More

Protein Sci 2020 Jul 8. Epub 2020 Jul 8.

Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.

HIV-1 remains as a global health issue that is primarily treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy, a combination of drugs that target the viral life cycle. One class of these drugs are non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) that target the viral reverse transcriptase (RT). First generation NNRTIs were troubled with poor pharmacological properties and drug resistance, incentivizing the development of improved compounds. Read More

IDCases 2020 25;21:e00886. Epub 2020 Jun 25.

Department of Internal Medicine, MountainView Regional Medical Center, Las Cruces, NM, 88011, USA.

A 51-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital with abdominal pain, jaundice, and transaminitis. The patient's laboratory results showed elevated liver enzymes, high antinuclear antibodies (ANA) titer, positive anti-smooth muscle antibody, and hypergammaglobulinemia. Given risk factors for HIV infection, an ADVIA Centaur® HIV Antigen/Antibody Combo assay was performed showing a reactive sample with a follow up HIV-1 nucleic acid test (NAT) proving to be negative. Read More

Acta Pharm Sin B 2020 Jun 21;10(6):961-978. Epub 2019 Nov 21.

Engineering Center of Catalysis and Synthesis for Chiral Molecules, Department of Chemistry, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the primary infectious agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) are the cornerstone of HIV treatment. In the last 20 years, our medicinal chemistry group has made great strides in developing several distinct novel NNRTIs, including 1-[(2-hydroxyethoxy)methyl]-6-(phenylthio)thymine (HEPT), thio-dihydro-alkoxy-benzyl-oxopyrimidine (-DABO), diaryltriazine (DATA), diarylpyrimidine (DAPY) analogues, and their hybrid derivatives. Application of integrated modern medicinal strategies, including structure-based drug design, fragment-based optimization, scaffold/fragment hopping, molecular/fragment hybridization, and bioisosterism, led to the development of several highly potent analogues for further evaluations. Read More

Iran J Pharm Res 2019 ;18(3):1253-1263

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

A series of 2-benzoxazolinone, diazocoumarin and quinazoline derivatives have been shown to inhibit HIV replication in cell culture. To understand the pharmacophore properties of selected molecules and design new anti-HIV agents, quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) study was developed using a descriptor selection approach based on the stepwise method. Multiple linear regression method was applied to relate the anti-HIV activities of dataset molecules to the selected descriptors. Read More

J Virol 2020 Jul 8. Epub 2020 Jul 8.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine, Chicago, IL

Apolipoprotein B editing, catalytic subunit 3 (APOBEC3) family members are cytidine deaminases that play important roles in intrinsic responses to retrovirus infection. Complex retroviruses like HIV-1 encode the viral infectivity factor (Vif) protein to counteract APOBEC3 proteins. Vif induces degradation of APOBEC3G and other APOBEC3 proteins and thereby prevents their packaging into virions. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2020 Jul 8. Epub 2020 Jul 8.

Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for AIDS/STD and Control Prevention, No 27 Nanwei road, Beijing, China, 100050;

In our study, we reported a novel CRF01_AE/B/C HIV-1 recombinant form among six epidemiologically unlinked heterosexual patients in Yunnan, China. It was named CRF106_cpx (this is temporary as we have not received the CRF number from HIV databases). After sequencing and analyzing of the near full-length genome (NFLG), we found that CRF106_cpx was generated by three B segments and two CRF01_AE segments inserted into the C backbone. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2020 Jul 8. Epub 2020 Jul 8.

White River Junction VA Medical Center, 20127, White River Junction, Vermont, United States.

Gene editing approaches using CRISPR/Cas9 are being developed as a means for targeting the integrated HIV-1 provirus. Enthusiasm for the use of gene editing as an anti-HIV-1 therapeutic has been tempered by concerns about the specificity and efficacy of this approach. Guide RNAs (gRNAs) that target conserved sequences across a wide range of genetically diverse HIV-1 isolates will have greater clinical utility. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2020 Jul 8. Epub 2020 Jul 8.

Stellenbosch University, Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences,, PO Box 19063, Francie van Zijl Avenue, Cape Town, Western Cape Province, South Africa, 7505;

HIV-1 Integrase (IN) is a primary target for combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Only a limited number of studies report on the emergence of resistance-associated mutations (RAMs) in Cameroon. We observed that (1. Read More

Biomolecules 2020 Jul 6;10(7). Epub 2020 Jul 6.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary.

The human retroviral-like aspartic protease 1 (ASPRV1) is a mammalian retroviral-like enzyme that catalyzes a critical proteolytic step during epidermal differentiation; therefore, it is also referred to as skin-specific aspartic protease (SASPase). Neutrophil granulocytes were also found recently to express ASPRV1 that is involved in the progression of acute chronic inflammation of the central nervous system, especially in autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Thus, investigation of ASPRV1 is important due to its therapeutic or diagnostic potential. Read More

Vaccines (Basel) 2020 Jul 6;8(3). Epub 2020 Jul 6.

The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK.

A vaccine will likely be one of the key tools for ending the HIV-1/AIDS epidemic by preventing HIV-1 spread within uninfected populations and achieving a cure for people living with HIV-1. The currently prevailing view of the vaccine field is to introduce protective antibodies, nevertheless, a vaccine to be effective may need to harness protective T cells. We postulated that focusing a T-cell response on the most vulnerable regions of the HIV-1 proteome while maximizing a perfect match between the vaccine and circulating viruses will control HIV-1 replication. Read More

Viruses 2020 Jul 6;12(7). Epub 2020 Jul 6.

Department of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, 09042 Monserrato, Italy.

HIV-1 infection requires life-long treatment and with 2.1 million new infections/year, faces the challenge of an increased rate of transmitted drug-resistant mutations. Therefore, a constant and timely effort is needed to identify new HIV-1 inhibitors active against drug-resistant variants. Read More

bioRxiv 2020 Jun 30. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has escalated into a global crisis. The spike (S) protein that mediates cell entry and membrane fusion is the current focus of vaccine and therapeutic antibody development efforts. The S protein, like many other viral fusion proteins such as HIV-1 envelope (Env) and influenza hemagglutinin, is glycosylated with both complex and high mannose glycans. Read More

Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2020 Sep 22;18:145-158. Epub 2020 May 22.

Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology Department, Research Institute for Medicines (iMed ULisboa), Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.

Despite efforts to develop effective treatments for eradicating HIV-1, a cure has not yet been achieved. Whereas antiretroviral drugs target an actively replicating virus, latent, nonreplicative forms persist during treatment. Pharmacological strategies that reactivate latent HIV-1 and expose cellular reservoirs to antiretroviral therapy and the host immune system have, so far, been unsuccessful, often triggering severe side effects, mainly due to systemic immune activation. Read More

Front Chem 2020 19;8:440. Epub 2020 Jun 19.

Sorbonne Université, Laboratoire de Chimie Théorique, UMR7616 CNRS, Paris, France.

The HIV-1 integrase (IN) is a major target for the design of novel anti-HIV inhibitors. Among these, three inhibitors which embody a halobenzene ring derivative (HR) in their structures are presently used in clinics. High-resolution X-ray crystallography of the complexes of the IN-viral DNA transient complex bound to each of the three inhibitors showed in all cases the HR ring to interact within a confined zone of the viral DNA, limited to the highly conserved 5'CpA 3'/5'TpG 3' step. Read More

Asian J Pharm Sci 2020 May 14;15(3):336-346. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

College of Pharmacy, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Republic of Korea.

The therapeutic potential of saquinavir, a specific inhibitor of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 and HIV-2 protease enzymes, has been largely limited because of a low solubility and consequnt low bioavailability. Thus, we aimed to design a supersaturated self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (S-SMEDDS) that can maintain a high concentration of saquinavir in gastro-intestinal fluid thorugh inhibiting the drug precipitation to enhance the lymphatic transport of saquinavir and to increase the bioavailability of saquinavir considerably. Solubilizing capacity of different oils, surfactants, and cosurfactants for saquinavir was evaluated to select optimal ingredients for preparation of SMEDDS. Read More

BMJ Open 2020 Jul 6;10(7):e035596. Epub 2020 Jul 6.

Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK.

Introduction: At least 30% of people living with HIV (PLWH) infection have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which has now become a leading cause of hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis. Management is based largely on lifestyle modifications, which are difficult to achieve, and therapeutic options are urgently needed. Maraviroc (MVC), through antagonism of CCR5 receptors, may reduce hepatic fibrosis progression and could be an effective treatment for NAFLD. Read More

Metabolites 2020 Jul 3;10(7). Epub 2020 Jul 3.

Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza, University of Rome, viale del Policlinico 155, 00161 Rome, Italy.

To investigate the effects of oral bacteriotherapy on intestinal phenylalanine and tyrosine metabolism, in this longitudinal, double-arm trial, 15 virally suppressed HIV+ individuals underwent blood and fecal sample collection at baseline and after 6 months of oral bacteriotherapy. A baseline fecal sample was collected from 15 healthy individuals and served as control group for the baseline levels of fecal phenylalanine and tyrosine. CD4 and CD8 immune activation (CD38) was evaluated by flow cytometry. Read More

J Clin Med 2020 Jul 3;9(7). Epub 2020 Jul 3.

Laboratory of Reference and Research on Viral Hepatitis, National Center of Microbiology, Institute of Health Carlos III, 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain.

Coinfection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) influences HIV reservoir size. However, it is unknown whether this coinfection also induces a higher provirus transcription. Viral transcription is promoted by synergy between cellular factors such as NF-κB and the viral regulator Tat. Read More

PLoS One 2020 7;15(7):e0235759. Epub 2020 Jul 7.

Department of Paediatrics, University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Background: Renal abnormalities in HIV infected children may be due to the HIV infection or treatment among other factors. Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is associated with proximal renal tubular dysfunction, proteinuria and decrease in glomerular function. Studies in developed countries have shown variable prevalence of proximal renal tubular dysfunction in children on TDF. Read More

Virol Sin 2020 Jul 6. Epub 2020 Jul 6.

State Key Laboratory of Virology/Institute of Medical Virology/Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China.

The human myxovirus resistance 2 (Mx2/MxB) protein, a member of interferon (IFN)-inducible dynamin-like large GTPases, restricts a number of virus infections. Inhibition of these viruses occurs at poorly-defined steps after viral entry and has a common requirement for MxB oligomerization. However, the GTPase activity is essential for the anti-viral effects of MxB against herpesviruses and HBV but not HIV-1. Read More

Science 2020 Jul;369(6499):103-108

Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.

During sexual transmission, the high genetic diversity of HIV-1 within an individual is frequently reduced to one founder variant that initiates infection. Understanding the drivers of this bottleneck is crucial to developing effective infection control strategies. Little is known about the importance of the source partner during this bottleneck. Read More

Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2020 Aug 12;30(16):127345. Epub 2020 Jun 12.

Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411008, India. Electronic address:

We have developed a dual-app nucleoside analog, 5-selenophene-modified 2'-deoxyuridine (dU), to probe the structure and ligand-binding properties of a G-rich segment present in the long terminal repeat (LTR) of the HIV-1 proviral DNA promoter region. The nucleoside probe is made of an environment-responsive fluorophore and X-ray crystallography phasing label (Se atom). dU incorporated into LTR-IV sequence, fluorescently reports the formation of G-quadruplex (GQ) structure without affecting the native fold. Read More

Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2020 Aug 26;30(16):127287. Epub 2020 May 26.

Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Ji'nan 250012, China. Electronic address:

In the present work, we described the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of a novel series of potential dual-target prodrugs targeting the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) and nucleocapsid protein 7 (NCp7) simultaneously. Among them, the most effective compound 7c was found to inhibit HIV-1 wild-type (WT) strain at double-digit nanomolar concentration (EC = 42 nM) in MT-4 cells, and sub-micromole (EC = 0.308 μM) to inhibit HIV-1 NL4-3 strain in TZM-bl cells. Read More

Retrovirology 2020 Jul 6;17(1):19. Epub 2020 Jul 6.

Department of Immunology and Molecular Biology, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.

Background: Tripartite Motif Containing 5 alpha (TRIM5α), a restriction factor produced ubiquitously in cells and tissues of the body plays an important role in the immune response against HIV. TRIM5α targets the HIV capsid for proteosomal destruction. Cyclophilin A, an intracellular protein has also been reported to influence HIV infectivity in a cell-specific manner. Read More

Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther 2020 Jul 7. Epub 2020 Jul 7.

Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences , Mashhad, Iran.

Introduction: Chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), originally were prescribed for prevention or treatment of malaria, but now successfully are used in several rheumatologic diseases. In addition, in recent decades considering their immunomodulatory effects, high tolerably and low cost, they are evaluated for various viral infections from HIV to COVID-19.

Areas Covered: In this review we tried to summarize all available studies on HCQ and CQ efficacy for management of viral infections and the probable mechanisms of action. Read More

Viruses 2020 Jun 30;12(7). Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Department of Microbiology, Boston University School of Medicine, 72 E. Concord St., R512, Boston, MA 02118, USA.

A hallmark of HIV-1 infection is chronic inflammation, which plays a significant role in disease pathogenesis. Acute HIV infection induces robust inflammatory responses, which are insufficient to prevent or eliminate virus in mucosal tissues. While establishment of viral set-point is coincident with downregulation of acute innate responses, systemic inflammatory responses persist during the course of chronic HIV infection. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2020 Jun 30;21(13). Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA.

Despite combined antiretroviral therapy (ART) achieving efficient HIV replication control, HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) continue to be highly prevalent in HIV-infected patients. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a well-known comorbidity of HAND in HIV-infected patients. Blood brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction has been linked recently to dementia development, specifically in DM patients. Read More

Eng Life Sci 2017 Feb 4;17(2):193-203. Epub 2016 Oct 4.

School of Chemical Engineering University of Adelaide Adelaide Australia.

Highly efficient gene delivery vehicles are pursued to progress gene therapy. In this study, we developed the cell-penetrating peptide-labelled and degradable gene carriers for efficient external gene transfection. The cationic carriers were prepared by coupling low-molecular-weight polyethylenimine (PEI800) with 4'4-dithiodibutyric acid (DA), and HIV-1 Trans-Activator of Transcription (TAT) was conjugated to the carriers as a penetrating peptide. Read More

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2020 Jun 26;194:111227. Epub 2020 Jun 26.

Department of Virology, ICMR-National AIDS Research Institute, Pune, 411 026, Maharashtra, India; Savitribai Phule Pune University, Ganeshkhind, Pune 411 007, India. Electronic address:

The objectives of this study were to reduce the cytotoxic effect of nevirapine (NVP) and to enhance its anti-HIV efficacy through mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNPs) mediated delivery. MSNPs were synthesized and characterized by various techniques. Confocal microscopy and flow cytometry results exhibited efficient uptake of FITC-conjugated MSNPs in TZM-bl cells. Read More

Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis 2020 Jul 3:165891. Epub 2020 Jul 3.

Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, School of Medicine, Lubbock, TX 79430, USA. Electronic address:

Clin Chem 2020 Jul;66(7):881-882

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.

J Biomol Struct Dyn 2020 Jul 6:1-8. Epub 2020 Jul 6.

Laboratory of Biocrystallography and Computational Molecular Biology, Department of Physics, Periyar University, Salem, India.

Initially, the SARS-CoV-2 virus was emerged from Wuhan, China and rapidly spreading across the world and urges the scientific community to develop antiviral therapeutic agents. Among several strategies, drug repurposing will help to react immediately to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. In the present study, we have chosen two clinical trial drugs against HIV-1 protease namely, TMB607 and TMC310911 to use as the inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M) enzyme. Read More

HIV Med 2020 Jul 5. Epub 2020 Jul 5.

Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.

Objectives: We aimed to study the incidence rate, predictors and outcomes of HIV care interruption (HCI) in Belgium.

Methods: We analysed data for adult patients with at least two HIV care records in the Belgian HIV cohort between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2016. An HCI episode was defined as 1 year without an HIV care record. Read More

Front Med (Lausanne) 2020 18;7:272. Epub 2020 Jun 18.

Center for Infectious Diseases, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

HIV-1/ () coinfection has become a global challenge, and three monocyte subsets express varying levels of the chemokine receptors CCR2 and CX3CR1. We recently evaluated the association between monocyte subsets and regulatory T cells in HIV-infected individuals with syphilis. Currently, the dynamic changes of CCR2 and CX3CR1 on monocyte subsets during HIV-1 and syphilis coinfection have not been fully investigated. Read More

Front Microbiol 2020 17;11:1314. Epub 2020 Jun 17.

Department of Bioinformatics, Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Moscow, Russia.

The interaction of human immunodeficiency virus with human cells is responsible for all stages of the viral life cycle, from the infection of CD4+ cells to reverse transcription, integration, and the assembly of new viral particles. To date, a large amount of OMICs data as well as information from functional genomics screenings regarding the HIV-host interaction has been accumulated in the literature and in public databases. We processed databases containing HIV-host interactions and found 2910 HIV-1-human protein-protein interactions, mostly related to viral group M subtype B, 137 interactions between human and HIV-1 coding and non-coding RNAs, essential for viral lifecycle and cell defense mechanisms, 232 transcriptomics, 27 proteomics, and 34 epigenomics HIV-related experiments. Read More

Front Pharmacol 2020 17;11:905. Epub 2020 Jun 17.

Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.

Current antiretroviral therapies used for HIV management do not target latent viral reservoirs in humans. The experimental "shock-and-kill" therapeutic approach involves use of latency-reversal agents (LRAs) that reactivate HIV expression in reservoir-containing cells, followed by infected cell elimination through viral or host immune cytopathic effects. Several LRAs that function as histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are reported to reverse HIV latency in cells and in clinical trials; however, none to date have consistently reduced viral reservoirs in humans, prompting a need to identify new LRAs. Read More

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2020 Jul 5. Epub 2020 Jul 5.

Institute of Human Virology, Basic Science, Baltimore, Maryland, United States.

The efficacy of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) against HIV-1 is evidenced by reduction of plasma viremia, disease progression, viral transmission and mortality. However, major challenges still remain in HIV-1 management, especially the emergence of resistant strains and the persistence of viral reservoirs, apparent after cART treatment interruption. Efforts are ongoing to explore the most effective means to intensify cART therapy and successfully control residual viral replication. Read More

Infect Dis Ther 2020 Jul 4. Epub 2020 Jul 4.

Department of Pharmacy Practice, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.

A potential drug-drug interaction exists between divalent and trivalent cations (Ca, Fe, Mg, Al, Zn) and HIV-1 integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs). There are limited case reports describing the clinical significance of this potential interaction and none to our knowledge identifying zinc co-administration with INSTIs. In this report we present a patient taking bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide who became viremic after ingesting zinc and calcium supplements and later was able to obtain virologic re-suppression after discontinuing supplements. Read More

EBioMedicine 2020 Jun 30;57:102842. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Université Paris-Saclay, Inserm, CEA, Center for Immunology of Viral, Auto-immune, Hematological and Bacterial diseases ≫ (IMVA-HB/IDMIT), Fontenay-aux-Roses & Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France. Electronic address:

Background: HIV-1 sexual transmission occurs mostly through infected semen, which contains both free virions and infected leukocytes. Transmission initiated by infected cells has been shown by several in vitro and in vivo studies and a reduced capacity of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) to inhibit cell-to-cell transmission has also been reported. However, due to limitations of available experimental models, there is yet no clarity to which extend bNAbs can prevent transmission mediated by semen leukocytes. Read More