Mount Sinai researchers have developed a method to discover hidden immune cells that house the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a discovery that brings medical experts one more step to a cure for infection that affects almost 40 million people around the world. The findings were published in Nature communications On March 6.
HIV is a virus that attacks cells in the body that fights infections, thus weakening the immune system. Antiretroviral therapies can treat HIV infection by stopping the spread of the virus and protecting the immune system, but does not heal the virus. Mount Sinai researchers have developed a method to genetically mark the immune cells that transport HIV, an important milestone that could lead to approaches that eliminate cells infected with latent HIV and heal the virus.
The team created a new cell lineage tracking model to reveal where the virus is hidden and developed genetic T cell profiles, or white blood cells that are crucial for the immune response and retain active or inactive HIV. The researchers said that their genetic analysis of latent HIV cells provides a new genetic pathway for potential treatment.
“The main hindered to the infection is the virus hides in immune cells that are difficult to identify and study. If we can identify the cells infected with HIV, it Will Help Bring Us Closer To Figuring Out How To Eliminate Them,” Said corresponding Author Benjamin K. Chen, MD PHD, Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Microbiology, Pharmacological Sciences, and Immunology and Immunotherapy at The Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai.
The researchers developed a genetic system to mark cells infected with HIV and then study populations of infected and inactive cells. They used humanized mice models to develop a red to green fluorescent switch triggered by HIV infection that persists even if the virus is inactive. This switch results in the permanent marking of HIV -infected cells in mice and allows HIV infection lineage tracking. The research team outlined more than 47,000 T cells, including acutely infected, treated and non -infected cells, to identify T cells at help of help (which detect infections), memory cells, naive cells (fighting infections), proliferating cells, regulatory T cells and subset within these largest groups. Through their analysis, they predicted and identified nine different types of T cells that housed inactive HIV cells. His research also identified persistent T HIV cells even after 10 and 29 days of antiretroviral therapies.
The findings suggest new therapies that are directed to the deposit of latent HIV cells as a potential cure for the virus. The Mount Sinai team will study and test specific approaches to reactivate the latent HIV and determine whether it is possible to reduce the tank of infected cells.
The study was supported by the financing of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases and the National Institutes of Health (AI116191, AI1622223, S10OD026880 and S10OD030463) and the granting of Aytoruez of Clinical and Translational Sciences (CTSA) of the National Center for Translative Sciences of Advance (UL1TR0044419).