Epigenetic modification in patients infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1)

• Grant number: 13/02652-5
• Support type: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: June 01, 2013 - May 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Shirley Cavalcante Vasconcelos
• Grantee: Shirley Cavalcante Vasconcelos
• Home Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Assoc. researchers: Ricardo Sobhie Diaz

Abstract

Although antiretroviral therapy is capable of controlling the replication of HIV-1, the major difficulty in the eradication of infection is the establishment of stable viral reservoirs in infected cells. These reservoirs are maintained in part by epigenetic modifications that regulates the latent infection and reactivation of the provirus. One of the epigenetic mechanisms involved in this process is the methylation of the promoter region of HIV-1, preventing access of transcription factors to DNA. Epigenetic mechanisms act in the genome of HIV-1, however, no studies on changes in the pattern of methylation in the human genome, which can interfere with gene expression in the cellular environment. In the human genome, the methylation in the promoter region is critical for maintaining the levels of gene expression in cells which are altered in patients with difference in disease progression. This study aims to identify changes in methylation patterns in genomic DNA resulting from infection by HIV-1 in elite controllers and progressors patients. (AU)