Investigation of the presence of antiretroviral therapy resistance mutations in HIV samples obtained from treatment virgin and newly infected patients from different states of Brazil.

• Grant number: 22/07964-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2022
• End date: July 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Mário Ramos Janini
• Grantee: Mariana Pereira Neri
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In 1981, the world experienced the first indication of detection of the HIV virus in humans from the episode that took place in Los Angeles, California, where the death of two men admitted to a hospital in the city due to pneumonia caused by Pneumocystis. From the date of this event, the world began to experience a pandemic caused by the HIV virus, associated with the development of the human immunodeficiency syndrome in its carriers. From the first reported case to the present day, the HIV virus has been responsible for countless deaths in Brazil and worldwide. Data from the Notifiable Diseases Information System (Sinan), released in 2021, showed that in 2020, 29,917 AIDS cases were reported in Brazil, and 10,417 deaths were also recorded in the same year. Despite accumulating numbers greater than the 35 million deaths in the world to date, some factors such as access to prevention, diagnosis and treatment, have made HIV infection a chronic and manageable condition. Drug therapy from the use of antiretrovirals (ART) appeared in 1986, being associated with a significant improvement in the prognosis of HIV positive patients, due to the ability of drugs to suppress the replication of the virus. Although antiretroviral therapy is shown to be somewhat efficient, the numerous viral mutations that confer resistance to the drugs used are one of the great challenges to be overcome within this context.