Mutant HIV complicates disease monitoring, distracts immune system from the functional virus

Researchers at Johns Hopkins and George Washington universities report new evidence that proteins created by defective forms of HIV, long previously believed to be harmless, actually interact with our immune systems and are actively monitored by a specific type of immune cell, called cytotoxic T cells. In a report on the study, conducted on laboratory-grown human cells and published April 12 in the journal Cell Host and Microbe, the investigators say their experiments show that while defective HIV proviruses — the viral genetic material — cannot create functional infectious HIVs, a specific subset called “hypermutated” HIV proviruses creates proteins that cytotoxic T cells recognize as HIV. HIV proviruses can outnumber functional HIV 1000 copies to one and the faulty proteins they create can complicate efforts to measure a patient’s viral load, exhaust immune systems, shield functional HIV from attack by natural means or drugs, and seriously complicate the development of a cure....