Retrovirology News and Research

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The biological properties of the SARS-CoV-2 E protein in the context of HIV-1

Researchers assessed the effectiveness of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 envelope proteins against HIV-1.

22 Nov 2022

New way to thwart HIV infection at early stages

1.7 million. That's how many people are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) each year worldwide. 1.7 million people who are condemned to lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) or risk developing fatal AIDS . Out of the 37.9 million people living with HIV (PLWH), 22.3 million have access to ART, allowing them to have an almost normal lifespan.

26 Nov 2019

Cellular protein could take on role of restriction factor for hepatitis B virus

Hepatitis B is a viral liver infection that can lead to acute or chronic conditions. Although there is a vaccine that offers protection against the virus, current treatments which prevent the virus from replicating are not curative for infected individuals.

8 Apr 2019

Specific way of spelling out genetic code likely allows viruses to evade our cellular defenses

For millions of years, humans and viruses have engaged in a constant tug of war: as our cells evolve new ways to defend us from our viral enemies, these pathogens in turn acquire new traits to sidestep those defenses.

13 Nov 2017

Only subset of mother's HIV virus infects infants during pregnancy or breastfeeding, research shows

In the transmission of HIV-1 from mother to child only a subset of a mother's viruses infects their infants either in utero or via breastfeeding, and the viruses that are transmitted depend on whether transmission occurs during pregnancy or through breastfeeding, according to UCLA-led research.

15 Feb 2017

Research: Adenosine deaminase may help activate immune system against HIV

New research findings published in the February 2016 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, suggest that a new therapeutic strategy for HIV may already be available by repurposing an existing prescription drug.

3 Feb 2016

Brown University researchers describe new method to test HIV mutations

Tests that can distinguish whether HIV-positive people are infected with a drug-resistant strain or a non-resistant strain allow patients to get the most effective treatment as quickly as possible. In the November edition of the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, a team of Brown University researchers describes a new method that works faster and more sensitively in lab testing than the current standard technologies.

16 Oct 2015

Canadian researchers discover how HIV evades the body's antiviral responses

A Canadian research team at the IRCM in Montreal, led by molecular virologist Eric A. Cohen, PhD, made a significant discovery on how HIV escapes the body's antiviral responses. The team uncovered how an HIV viral protein known as Vpu tricks the immune system by using its own regulatory process to evade the host's first line of defence.

16 Jul 2015

Immune system exploits flu virus' dependence on host's machinery

Viruses are masters of outsourcing, entrusting their fundamental function - reproduction - to the host cells they infect. But it turns out this highly economical approach also creates vulnerability.

13 Feb 2015

Molecular diagnostics and blood screening systems: an interview with Dr Bos and Dr Koppelman

Screening blood donations and molecular diagnostics for patients started in the nineties. At the beginning, the level of automation in molecular diagnostic testing was limited; most of the work had to be done manually.

12 Oct 2014

New model for HIV-1 infection offers promising option for clinical research

HIV-1, the virus responsible for most cases of AIDS, is a very selective virus. It does not readily infect species other than its usual hosts — humans and chimpanzees.

20 Jun 2014

Compounds in soy sauce can be 70 times more potent than first-line HIV drug Tenofovir

For HIV patients being treated with anti-AIDS medications, resistance to drug therapy regimens is commonplace. Often, patients develop resistance to first-line drug therapies, such as Tenofovir, and are forced to adopt more potent medications.

6 May 2014

ABL enters into licensing agreement with CRP-Santé for COMET software

Advanced Biological Laboratories (ABL) S.A., a Luxembourg-based company today announced that it has entered into an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with CRP-Santé, a Luxembourg-based public research center active in the field of clinically oriented biomedical research, for its COMET (COntext-based Modeling for Expeditious Typing) software, a tool designed to rapidly analyze and optimally subtype large genetic data sets arising from epidemiological or antiretroviral resistance in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) fields.

2 Apr 2014

Researchers use naturally occurring HIV variant to trace T cell lineage for 17 years

A team of researchers has reported a novel method for tracking CD4+ T cells in people infected with HIV. CD4+ T cells are critical for immune defense against an array of pathogens and are a primary target of HIV. In the study, researchers used a unique, replication-incompetent (defective) form of HIV identified in a patient in the early 1990s.

4 Feb 2014

Mutant protein blocks HIV infection and transmission, scientists find

A mutant of an immune cell protein called ADAP (adhesion and degranulation-promoting adaptor protein) is able to block infection by HIV-1 (human immunodeficiency virus 1), new University of Cambridge research reveals. The researchers, who were funded by the Wellcome Trust, believe that their discovery will lead to new ways of combatting HIV.

2 Oct 2013

Study: Ciclopirox drug completely eradicates infectious HIV from cell cultures

The topical anti-fungal drug Ciclopirox causes HIV-infected cells to commit suicide by jamming up the cells' powerhouse, the mitochondria—according to a study by researchers at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. And unlike current anti-HIV drugs, Ciclopirox completely eradicates infectious HIV from cell cultures, with no rebound of virus when the drug is stopped.

24 Sep 2013

Platelet activation inhibits host cell entry of HIV, shows research

Scientists of the DPZ have shown that platelet activation inhibits the host cell entry of HIV. Infection biologists of the German Primate Center (DPZ) under the direction of Stefan Pöhlmann have found evidence that platelets (thrombocytes) might constitute an innate defense against infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

24 Jul 2013