Tag : Myeloid

Washington: According to a study, individuals who have been virally suppressed for years on antiretroviral medication may contain HIV in a subpopulation of white blood cells known as myeloid cells. Researchers demonstrated in the study that HIV can be reactivated and infect new cells in certain myeloid cells--short-lived monocytes and longer-lived monocyte-derived macrophages. The results, which were published in Nature Microbiology, imply that myeloid cells contribute to a long-lasting HIV reservoir, making them a crucial but underutilised target in HIV eradication efforts. "Our findings challenge the prevailing narrative that monocytes are too short-lived to be important in cure efforts," said study author Rebecca Veenhuis, Ph.D., an assistant professor of molecular and comparative pathobiology and of neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore. "Yes, the cells are short-lived, but our follow-up data show that HIV can persist in monocytes over several years in people who are virally suppressed. The fact that we can detect HIV in these cells over such a long period suggests something is keeping the myeloid reservoir going." The study, led by Veenhuis and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, all part of NIH. Antiretroviral medications are effective in treating HIV because they prevent the virus from infecting new cells and multiplying. However, HIV may still exist in cells that are in a resting, or latent, state, creating an HIV reservoir. CD4 T cells, a type of white blood cell, are the most well-studied HIV reservoir. Identifyin ...