SFU researchers discover a way to combat HIV mutation

published on February 18, 2019 by Henry Tran, in The Peak

In November 2018, Simon Fraser University researchers along with a group of South African academics from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal published a study that revealed how certain HIV-positive individuals possess immune cells that enable them to control their HIV viral load. This research provides further clues in the quest for developing an HIV vaccine, which is an epidemic that affects millions worldwide. The team plans to use their results to conduct future experiments that could lead to a more comprehensive understanding of a T-cell response associated with HIV.

The study, Dual HLA B*42 and B*81-reactive T cells receptors recognize more diverse HIV-1 Gag escape variants, was conducted from 2017–18, and the methods used in the study took approximately six years to establish, according to Gursev Anmole, a PhD candidate in molecular biology and biochemistry and one of the lead authors of the study.

In an email interview with The Peak, Anmole explained that the human immune system has immune cells called CD8+ T cells, also known as “killer T-cells.” Killer T-cells recognize virus particles (antigens) presented on virus-infected cells. Because of this unique ability, the CD8+ T cells are critical in destroying virus-infected cells.

When HIV infects a host cell, it expresses antigens on its cell surface via the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) protein, said Anmole. Killer T-cells have a receptor called the T-cell receptor (TCR) which identifies cells displaying the HLA protein. The killer T-cells destroy these cells to stop them from further damaging their host.

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Mark Brockman

BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

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SFU researchers discover a way to combat HIV mutation

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