In the study of the relationship between malaria and AIDS, Chen Xiaoping’s research group at the Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences established a rhesus monkey model of co-infection with Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) and Plasmodium to simulate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). ) Co-infection with Plasmodium. Based on the study of this animal model, the research team found that under the premise of antiretroviral therapy (ART), malaria infection is conducive to the clearance of SIV virus reservoirs and preliminarily explained its mechanism. Related research results were published in the journal Retrovirology on December 9.
The main reason that HIV infection is difficult to cure is the existence of long-lived cell virus reservoirs (mainly resting CD4+ T cells or memory CD4+ T cells). In this type of cell, HIV is integrated into the cell genome. It exists in the same way as a previous virus and is not recognized by the immune system. Antiviral drugs are also ineffective against it. The treatment strategy for virus reservoirs is mainly to activate such cells under the premise of antiviral therapy, so that the provirus can be expressed, so that these cells can be recognized and killed by the immune system, and thus are eventually eliminated. Chen Xiaoping's research team found that under the premise of antiviral treatment, malaria infection activates latently infected resting CD4+ T cells and memory CD4+ T cells, and induces apoptosis of these cells. Further research by the research team found that malaria infection induced the activation of the NF-kappa B signaling pathway and histone acetylation in cells, leading to the expression of provirus in such cells, thus reducing the capacity of the virus reservoir.
In some developing countries and regions, especially in Africa, malaria and HIV infection are the two main infectious diseases, and the two diseases overlap each other in geographical distribution, so co-infection is very common. With the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Plan, more and more HIV-infected people are receiving antiviral treatment. This research by Chen Xiaoping's team expands the knowledge domain of malaria and HIV co-infection. The study also suggests that in the above-mentioned areas, some HIV-infected persons receiving antiviral treatment may obtain some virological benefits due to malaria infection, which is worthy of further study.