HIV z-bo 2020-11-02 402

　　Although current antiretroviral therapies for HIV are very effective, data show that compared with people without HIV, people living with HIV seem to experience accelerated aging, and their life span is shortened by five to ten years. These results are related to chronic inflammation, which may lead to the early onset of age-related diseases such as atherosclerosis, cancer or decreased neurocognitive function.

　　A new study led by researchers from Boston Medical Center investigated the factors that may cause this inflammation. They found that the inability to control the production of HIV RNA produced by existing HIV DNA is a potentially key factor leading to inflammation. The results were published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, highlighting the need to develop new therapies for persistent inflammation in HIV-infected patients to improve treatment results.

　　After infection, HIV will always become part of the DNA of the infected person. In most cases, the infected cells are silent and will not replicate the virus. However, RNA is occasionally produced from HIV DNA, which is the first step in virus replication. Antiretroviral therapy can help prevent HIV and AIDS-related complications, but it cannot prevent chronic inflammation common to HIV-infected people and is associated with mortality.

　　Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University School of Medicine physician scientist Nina Lin, MD, said: "Our research aims to determine the possible link between HIV-infected cells and chronic inflammation in people suppressed by HIV.

　　In this study, the researchers had 57 HIV-infected people who were treated with antiretroviral therapy. They compared blood inflammation and various virus measurements in young people (under 35 years of age) and elderly people (over 50 years of age). They also compared the ability of inflammation in the blood to activate silent cells with the HIV genome to produce HIV. Their results show that even the use of antiretroviral drugs cannot control the production of HIV RNA and inflammation.

　　Dr. Manish Sagar, the corresponding author of the study, said: "Our findings indicate that new treatments are needed to target the persistent inflammation in HIV-infected people. Current antiretroviral drugs can prevent new infections, but not HIV RNA. The results of our study regard it as a potentially key factor driving inflammation in HIV-infected people.”