Using evidence from HIV evolution in North America, SFU researchers have discovered that the virus is slowly adapting over time to its human hosts. Nevertheless, assistant professor of health sciences at SFU and lead author of this study, Zabrina Brumme asserts that the evolution is not progressing fast enough to be a danger to humans.
Brumme explained, “The purpose of our study was to investigate the adaptation of HIV to immune selection pressures in the North American population. To do this, we studied HIV specimens dating back from 1979 to the present day. From these specimens we extracted human immune information as well as virus sequence data and looked for evidence that the virus was adapting to our immune systems over time.”
With funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR), Brumme’s lab was able to collaborate with scientists at UBC, the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, and sites across the US.
Although HIV-1 specimens used in the study were from 1979, the oldest specimens sequenced date back to 1959 and 1960. “Both are from Central Africa. With respect to North America, the oldest sequences date back to 1979 and were collected as part of our study.” Brumme said.
The findings of the study, she stated, were evidence that the virus is indeed slowly adapting over time to its human hosts. However, Brumme says there is no need to panic: “This change is so gradual that it is unlikely to have an impact on host immunity to HIV — or vaccine design — on a relevant timescale.”
She continued, “Basically, we’ve got the tools now, in the form of potent anti-HIV drugs, to turn the tide of HIV globally. These drugs do two things: a) they save lives and b) they reduce the risk of HIV transmission essentially to zero.”
The research team hopes that by collecting and sequencing historic HIV-1 isolates, they will be able to achieve a deeper understanding of how HIV has spread around the world. “Understanding how HIV evolves in infected persons and host populations is also relevant to HIV prevention, notably development of an HIV vaccine,” Brumme said.
Although the evolutionary side of HIV is just one piece in a much larger puzzle, the team says they have reasons to be hopeful. Brumme explained, “A major global priority is the delivery of HIV treatment to the millions of people worldwide who need it — to save lives and eliminate new infections. While we do the above, we also need to continue to invest resources and scientific efforts towards finding an HIV vaccine and an HIV cure.”
The purpose of our study was to investigate the adaptation of HIV to
immune selection pressures in the North American population.
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I never believed that I would ever be cured of HIV on till
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