Antiretroviral therapy (ART) during the earliest stage of acute HIV infection (Fiebig I) might minimize establishment of a latent HIV reservoir and thereby facilitate viremic control after analytical treatment interruption (ATI). We show that 8 participants, who initiated treatment during Fiebig I and were treated for a median of 2.8 years, all experienced rapid viral load rebound following ATI, indicating that additional strategies are required to control or eradicate HIV.

No abstract

IL-27 differentially regulates the gene expression between CD4 T cells and MDM. IL-27 significantly induces antiviral genes in MDM as does IFN-alpha, suggesting that IL-27 inhibits HIV replication in MDM via mechanism(s) similar to that of IFN-alpha.

Aspergillus fumigatus induces the release of innate immune-related molecules from phagocytic cells early in the course of infection. Little is known, however, about the complex expression profiles of the multiple genes involved in this response. We therefore investigated the kinetics of early gene expression in human monocytes (HMCs) infected with conidia of A. fumigatus using DNA microarray analysis. Total RNA from HMCs at 0, 2, 4, and 6 h was extracted, linearly amplified, hybridized onto Affymetrix HG133 Plus 2.0 gene chips, and analyzed with an Affymetrix scanner. Changes in gene expression were calculated as a ratio of those expressed by infected versus control HMCs. Aspergillus fumigatus induced differential regulation of expression in 1,827 genes (P < 0.05). Genes encoding cytokines and chemokines involved in host defense against A. fumigatus, including interleukin-1␤ (IL-1␤), IL-8, CXCL2, CCL4, CCL3, and CCL20, as well as the opsonin long pentraxin 3, were up-regulated during the first 2 to 6 h, coinciding with an increase in phagocytosis. Simultaneously, genes encoding CD14, ficolin1, and MARCO were down-regulated, and genes encoding IL-10 and matrix metalloproteinase 1 were up-regulated. Up-regulation of the genes encoding heat shock proteins 40 and 110 and connexins 26 and 30 may point to novel molecules whose role in the pathogenesis of aspergillosis has not been previously reported. Verification of the transcriptional profiling was obtained for selected genes by reverse transcription-PCR and enzyme immunoassay. Thus, A. fumigatus conidia induced a coordinated expression of genes important in host defense and immunomodulation.Invasive aspergillosis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among immunocompromised patients. Risk factors for developing aspergillosis include aplastic anemia (46), hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (32), solid organ transplantation (44), and phagocytic deficiencies, such as chronic granulomatous disease and human immunodeficiency virus infection (40,43). Aspergillus fumigatus is the species most commonly identified as the cause of invasive aspergillosis.Monocytes/macrophages play a pivotal role in normal host defense against A. fumigatus. The innate host response against this pathogen is mediated by release of immune-related molecules from phagocytic cells. However, little is known about the complex expression kinetic profiles of the multiple genes mediating the initial immune response to A. fumigatus. Thus, we hypothesized that conidia of A. fumigatus would induce reciprocal changes in expression of genes encoding products related to innate immunity that may provide insight into early host-parasite interaction.In this study, we used microarray analysis to elucidate the initial kinetics of the transcriptional response of genes encoding innate host defense molecules in normal human monocytes after in vitro stimulation/infection with A. fumigatus conidia. We report herein the changes in expression of genes whose products are involved in the initial innate immun...