Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Diseases: HIV

Dear Colleagues,

HIV and human defense mechanisms have coevolved to neutralize each other. In the course of infection, HIV exploits the cellular equipment and inhibits the action of antiviral proteins (termed restriction factors). Not everyone exposed to the virus becomes infected and there is considerable heterogeneity in the clinical course of HIV infection, with some people progressing rapidly to disease and death while others show no signs of immunodeficiency for decades. These individuals exhibit immunological and genetic features that confer upon them a natural resistance to infection and/or disease progression. The study of these correlates of protection is valuable because the reasons for the devastating immune-deficiency caused by HIV-1 infection are not entirely known, nor are we aware of why the potent antiviral immune response eventually fails to control viral replication. Despite HIV’s ability to evade host restriction factors, detecting these determinants and understanding how they interact with viral accessory proteins could provide remarkable insight into the potential mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of HIV-1 infection. The discovery of molecular profiles and mechanisms that are distinctive of these individuals could also provide new insights to control HIV infection and contribute to the development of new antivirals and, hopefully, vaccines against AIDS.

Dr. Mara Biasin
Prof. Dr. Daria Lucia Trabattoni
Topic Editors