Naglaa Shoukry and Petronela Ancuta, researchers in the Immunopathology Research Theme at the Centre de recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM), are shedding new light on one of the greatest challenges in HIV research: understanding why the virus remains in the body despite treatment.
Their research, published in The Lancet eBioMedicine, shows that hepatitis C may contribute to the formation of reservoirs where HIV can remain hidden for long periods, making it impossible to completely eliminate the virus.
Research conducted by Naglaa Shoukry, Petronela Ancuta, also professors at UdeM’s Faculty of Medicine and their teams, shows that in people with hepatitis C infection, certain immune cells become more vulnerable to HIV infection. These cells produce higher levels of CCR5, a protein that HIV uses as an entry point to infect the body. The higher the amount of hepatitis C virus in the blood, the more susceptible these cells appear to be to HIV.
Even after hepatitis C has been cured and despite effective antiretroviral therapy, traces of HIV continue to persist in these cells. The findings suggest that these cells may play an important role in maintaining viral reservoirs, one of the main barriers to completely eliminating the virus.
This new study provides insight into how HIV reservoirs form and persist in the body. The findings pave the way for new strategies to better target these reservoirs.
By identifying the mechanisms that allow the virus to hide and survive over the long term, researchers are moving closer to a goal that has been pursued for decades: one day achieving a lasting cure for HIV.
