Grant: Project Grant

No therapy can yet rid the body of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, thus requiring life-long adherence to drugs. People on effective therapy harbour residual virus in their bodies, which can remain silent or 'latent' for many years, in areas of the body called 'reservoirs'. The main reservoir of hidden virus is within CD4 cells. It has been estimated that there are only about a million of CD4 cells in the body that contain HIV hidden from the effects of the immune cells. An immune cell called the 'cytotoxic killer T cell' can attack this reservoir. This proposal will explore new strategies to allow the immune system to 'see' the latent virus better instead of it being hidden and also improve the ability of the immune system to kill HIV infected cells better and eliminate reliance on drug therapy. Our preliminary findings suggest that two immune molecules called CEACAM-1 and TIM-3 are key to HIV's ability to hide and evade immune attacks. Our grant proposal aims to increase our understanding of the effects of these molecules on the reservoir. If successful, these studies will pave the way to new immune based therapies that can be used so that the immune system can rid the body of HIV. If successful, such treatment would benefit Canadians living with HIV as it will reduce the burden of lifelong treatments and side effects associated with them, thus improving their health and well-being.