Mutational tug of war over HIV's disease-inducing potential
Examining HIV transmission events occurring in 169 heterosexual couples in Zambia, the researchers found that almost a third of potential immune target sites in the virus that established infection were "pre-adapted" to the immune response in the newly-infected partner. That means that HIV had already evolved to evade immune scrutiny in the newly-infected person. The researchers' findings suggest that designers of vaccines against HIV should focus on regions of conserved viral proteins that do not become adapted in the same way. The study, published Monday, Aug. 22 in Journal of Experimental Medicine , was led by Eric Hunter, PhD, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, Emory Vaccine Center and Yerkes National Primate Research Center. Hunter is a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar and co-director of the Emory Center for AIDS Research. The first author is postdoctoral fellow Daniela C. Mónaco, PhD. This analys...