Single-cell studies offer new view of how HIV infections persist —and might be cured

This microscopic device is one of three that together separate out individual HIV-infected immune cells from blood samples and trap their genetic contents in droplets for analysis. Iain Clark and Adam Abate Curing HIV infections remains one of the most formidable challenges in biomedicine, in part because cells that hold the viral DNA in their chromosomes persist in the face of powerful drugs and immune responses. A research team has now, for the first time, isolated single cells from these stubborn viral reservoirs and characterized their gene activity, suggesting potential new cure strategies. “This is really exciting,” says Sharon Lewin, who heads the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and singled out the result as one of the most groundbreaking presented at the 24th International AIDS Conference that began last week. “These single-cell advances are big.” AIDS researchers have had many triumphs since the disease emerged 42 years ago, but only four people are considered cured, and they had cancers that required risk-laden bone marrow transplants. The transplants reconstituted their immune systems with cells impervious to HIV infection. Efforts to develop simpler and safer cures for the other 38.4 million people living with the virus have been dogged by a fundamental obstacle: HIV persists in pockets of cells by going silent. After entering a human cell and integrating its DNA into the host chromos...
Source: ScienceNOW - Category: Science Source Type: news