What is it about?
To seek viral characteristics responsible for natural control of infection in long-term non-progressors HIV+ individuals. The env gene appears to be crucial in non-functional founder virus to assure a natural control of the infection for years.
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Why is it important?
In this work, we analyzed the viral characteristics of the envelopes of viruses from a phylogenetic cluster of LTNP-EC patients. These envelopes showed ineffective binding to CD4 and the subsequent signaling activity to modify actin/tubulin cytoskeletons, which result in low fusion and deficient entry and infection capacities. These Env viral characteristics could explain the nonprogressor clinical phenotype of these patients. In addition, these inefficient env viral properties were present in all viruses of the cluster, supporting the heritability of the viral phenotype.
Perspectives
This work opens new perspectives to develop anti-HIV-1 functional cure strategies based on key information from viruses of natural controllers of HIV-1, in order to target HIV-1 Env in functional virus to block its signal activity and therefore its infection ability to avoid viral infection and spreading.
Dr Agustin Valenzuela-Fernandez
Universidad de La Laguna
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Viral Characteristics Associated with the Clinical Nonprogressor Phenotype Are Inherited by Viruses from a Cluster of HIV-1 Elite Controllers, mBio, April 2018, ASM Journals,
DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02338-17.
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