Search Abstracts

Background Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the result of the cross-species transmission of simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs) that endemically infect non-human primates. While pandemic HIV-1 M is the result of a chimpanzee lentivirus (SIVcpz) cross-species transmission to humans, lentiviruses from other non-human primates have also spilled over into humans. Since the emergence of HIV, the…

Background Intra-host evolution reflects a general mechanism for the continued emergence of novel highly divergent SARS-CoV-2 variants. The intra-host evolution of SARS-CoV-2 was investigated with the aim of assessing conditions associated with the acquisition of new viral mutations through the sequencing of viral genomes. Methods 58 cases of COVID-19 with 2 or more longitudinally positive…

Background Recent studies characterizing primary isolates of HIV-1 from acute timepoints, rebound after treatment interruption, chronic viremia, and the persistent reservoir have identified key phenotypic differences between these viruses when replicating in primary CD4 T cells. Here, we leverage these HIV-1 isolates to probe effects of virus clade, isolate origin, and cell donor sex on…

Background CD4+ T-cell recovery varies among people with HIV (PWH) who are virologically suppressed on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Our objective was to identify the genetic predictors of CD4 recovery measured by the slope of longitudinal CD4+ T-cell counts within two years after ART initiation in PWH virologically suppressed on ART. We hypothesized that select single…

Background Humans and nonhuman primates (NHPs) possess seven APOBEC3 (A3) enzymes, which restrict various viruses, notably HIV in humans and SIV in NHPs. These antiviral proteins inhibit viral infection by inducing G>A mutations in viral genomes and/or through mutation-independent mechanisms. HIV and SIV counteract A3 enzymes via their virion infectivity factor (Vif), which promotes A3…

Background HIV-1 infection commonly causes multiple hematopoietic abnormalities, known as pancytopenia, including lymphopenia, anemia, granulocytopenia, and thrombocytopenia, suggesting a central deficiency in bone marrow hematopoiesis. However, the mechanism by which HIV-1 infection leads to bone marrow hematopoietic defects remains unknown due to the lack of appropriate in vivo models. In this study, we established a…

Background Poor client-provider interactions lead to reinforcing cycles of treatment interruptions (TIs) and fear of return, undermining sustained retention. We previously demonstrated a multicomponent person-centered care intervention (PCCi) targeting healthcare worker (HCW) behavior improved client experience and retention in care. To understand mechanisms of improved retention, we evaluated the effect of PCCi on return after…

Background N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification is the most prevalent post-transcriptional modification of cellular and viral RNA and is critical to the regulation of its localization, stability, and translation. The core m6A machinery consists of writers that deposit the modification, erasers that remove it and readers that respond to the presence of m6A on RNA. Previous studies…

Background HIV-1 establishes unique biomolecular condensates known as HIV-1 membraneless organelles (HIV-1-MLOs) within the nucleus of infected cells. It has been observed that these organelles localize in some nuclear speckles during the early steps of HIV-1 infection. Despite their identification in vitro, questions remain regarding their persistence, composition, function, and formation in vivo. Methods We…

Background Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is regulated by a wide array of host cell factors that combine to influence viral transcription and latency.  Methods To understand the complex relationship between the host cell and HIV latency, we performed a lentiviral CRISPR screen that targeted a set of host cell genes whose expression or activity…