“Public” T-Cell Receptors From Resistant People Fend Off HIV | Virus World | Scoop.it
From www.the-scientist.com - June 25, 2019 5:11 PM

A small number of HIV-infected individuals (<1%) can spontaneously control HIV in the absence of antiretroviral therapy. Because CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses are thought to contribute to protection, HIV-responsive T cell receptors (TCRs) from these individuals are of considerable interest.

 

Now, researchers led by Stephanie Gras of Monash University in Victoria, Australia, report how an unusual T-cell receptor found in the CD4+ T cells of some elite controllers is able to recognize low levels of HIV and mount a response. Gras says the finding, reported today (June 8) in Science Immunology, may be good news for the prospect of developing an immunotherapy to rev up the CD4+ attack on HIV.

 

The receptors, found in so-called elite controllers who don’t need medications to keep the virus in check, suggest a new path toward immunotherapy.