Study of anti-HIV immune response mediated by T lymphocytes in a cohort of HIV infected long-term non-progressors (LTNP) and elite controllers (EC) individuals

• Grant number: 15/21701-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2016
• End date: December 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology - Cellular Immunology
• Principal Investigator: Bosco Christiano Maciel da Silva
• Grantee: Gustavo Ferminie Hildebrando
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The HIV/Aids pandemic is one of the most important in the last decades without a vaccine or effective treatment has been developed in order to stop the infection and / or viral transmission to present. Actually, 36.9 million people living with HIV/Aids, according to UNAIDS. To develop a HIV vaccine or new forms of effective treatment is a global priority. In a minority of HIV-infected individuals (1-5%) the disease progression is particularly slow in the absence of antiretroviral treatment. They are called Long-Term Non Progressors (LTNP) and elite controllers (EC), and are asymptomatic, free of progression to Aids for more than 8-10 years, with stable CD4 T cell counts and above 500 cells./mm3, without antiretroviral therapy. These individuals are considered 'key individuals' in the study of correlates of protection and HIV vaccine. The T cell responses against HIV have a critical role on the virus control and the development of vaccines strategies, prophylactic or therapeutic. Whereas the main vaccines trials are based on induction of T cell responses against HIV epitopes, it is important to define the epitopes of HIV recognized by T cells of the Brazilian individuals, from different HIV subtypes circulating in Brazil.