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Topic Name: Study finds genetic influence of HIV/AIDS progression
Category: Genetic Engineering
Research persons: Sunil Ahuja, M.D.
Location: University of Texas Health Science Center, United States
Details
The amount of virus in the blood of an HIV-infected
person—has long been viewed as the chief indicator of how quickly someone
infected with HIV infection progresses to AIDS. New data published in Nature
Immunology builds on previous work that suggests that several other factors
in addition to viral
load significantly contribute to disease progression rates.
Researchers led by Sunil Ahuja, M.D., of the University
of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, examined genetic information
from more than 3,500 HIV-1 infected and uninfected individuals. They found that
individuals who had specific combinations of two genes—CCR5,
which helps facilitate HIV entry into the cell, and CCL3L1, an immune response
gene—were much more likely to have reduced immune responses and a greater
decline in CD4 T cells, two hallmarks of progressive HIV disease. Further, the
researchers found that in HIV-infected subjects, viral load contributed only 9
percent to the variability in rate of progression to AIDS; variations in CCR5
and CCL3L1 combined accounted for 6 percent variability in AIDS progression
rates.
The findings may have implications for the care of HIV-infected individuals
in terms of being able to more effectively predict the course of HIV disease.
With further research, this work may lead to additional markers, which along
with viral load may serve as indicators of HIV progression. The study was funded
by the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National
Institutes of Health.
About Researcher:
Sunil K. Ahuja, M.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine and Microbiology, Division of
Infectious Diseases.
Location:
DTL, Room 5.065R
Phone:
(210) 567-6511
Fax:
(210) 567-4654
E-mail: ahujas@uthscsa.edu
Research Interests:
Our work is currently focused on understanding the role of the chemokine system and other immune molecules in HIV-1 pathogenesis. This work is performed in close collaboration with Mathew Dolan, MD -Chief of Infectious Diseases at Wilford Hall Medical Center, San Antonio, TX- and Luisa Sen, MD -who works at a premier national hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Additional work focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that control the gene expression of CCR5, a key HIV-1 co receptor. In conjunction with my wife Seema Ahuja, MD -an independently funded physician-scientist- we use animal models to dissect the role of chemokines and their receptors in immune functions.
About Fund:
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. NIAID supports basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious and immune-mediated illnesses, including HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, illness from potential agents of bioterrorism, tuberculosis, malaria, autoimmune disorders, asthma and allergies.
The NIAID-funded Influenza Genome Sequencing Project is a collaborative effort designed to increase the genome knowledge base of influenza and help researchers understand how flu viruses evolve, spread and cause disease.
Organizational Structure
Division of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (DAIDS)
Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation (DAIT)
Division of Extramural Activities (DEA)
Division of Intramural Research (DIR)
Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (DMID)
Office of the Director (OD)
Vaccine Research Center (VRC)
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