A new project seeks to put the principles of community involvement in research into action. The INSPIRE project has been funded through the Melbourne HIV Cure Consortium in Melbourne, Australia. International best practice, and the United Nations, endorse the principles of Greater Involvement of People with HIV and AIDS (GIPA). GIPA emphasises the ethical and practical…
What might a functional cure for HIV look like? In a recent study, researchers assumed that HIV reactivation from latency occurs about once per week. They assessed three cure strategies: reducing the HIV reservoir, removing susceptible targets and eliciting immune control. A 1000-fold reservoir reduction would delay viral rebound by 20 years if treatment stopped….
Harvard researchers have published exciting results on a combination approach to tackling latent HIV. In a monkey model of HIV infection, the group combined the innate immune activating compound GS-9620 (a toll-like receptor 7 agonist) with the broadly neutralising antibody PGT121. The combination was given while infected monkeys were on treatment. When treatment stopped, the…
With the internet and a twitter account, spreading information is easy. When it comes to HIV cure research, it can be hard to distinguish genuine, good quality science from spin-doctored, over-hyped attention seeking. The story of ‘Gammora’ is a cautionary tale. Flood of false claims Towards the end of October, an Israeli company, Zion Medical,…
HIV plays a game of hide and seek during treatment. Australian researchers have launched a new study to find a better way to see hidden HIV. They hope to develop a non-invasive way of measuring the HIV that remains in the tissues of people on antiretroviral treatment. Why do we need a better way to…
New details have emerged of the exact structure of an important HIV vaccine target. The membrane-proximal external region (MPER) is a part of the HIV envelope protein. Broadly neutralising antibodies in people with HIV often target the MPER. A clearer view of the MPER shape and structure could help make vaccines that target this area….
This article was originally published in the Spring 2018 issue of Poslink, the newsletter of Living Positive Victoria. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be part of a clinical trial for a cure for HIV? Although antiretroviral therapy means that people living with HIV (PLHIV) in many countries have similar health outcomes and…
Reducing the persistent stigma and discrimination related to HIV infection drives clinician scientist Jintanat Ananworanich. Her research interests range from HIV infection in children to dissecting the very early stages of HIV infection in adults. We caught up with Dr Ananworanich while she was in Melbourne to deliver a public lecture at the Doherty Institute….
T cell exhaustion is a type of immune dysfunction that occurs in cancer and chronic infections. Most exhausted T cells express common markers, but not all exhausted cells respond to immunotherapy. Bengsch and colleagues have developed an immune profiling tool to identify subsets of exhausted T cells. Their strategy was developed by comparing exhaustion genes…
In the spring issue of Positive Living, all things AIDS 2018. We’ve an overview of the conference itself, and antipodean activists and advocates share their impressions. We report from Indonesia, where the country’s anti-LGBT agenda is having a devastating impact on its HIV response. To mark 30 years since the introduction of AZT to Australia,…
