Relationship between HIV entry pathway and drug resistance

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K21084
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Infectious disease medicine; Virology
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: SHIMURA KAZUYA 京都大学, ウイルス・再生医科学研究所, 助教 (90613836)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: HIV

Outline of Final Research Achievements

HIV-1 infects target cells more efficiently via the cell-to-cell route, compared to the cell-free route. We have developed an assay system, which enabled the precise evaluation of virus infection. Using this system, we revealed that several anti-HIV drugs showed a decreased level of activity in the cell-to-cell pathway. In order to gain deeper insight into their importance on latently-infected cells, we established latent HIV-1-infected cells, which can produce replication-competent viruses upon reactivation. Among several agents, we tested JQ-1, a BRD4 inhibitor, which efficiently reactivated and induced HIV-1 production from the cells. Moreover, we observed that HIV-1 transmission from reactivated cells to uninfected target cells was less susceptible to antiviral drugs such as the ones targeting reverse transcription. These observations indicate that the infection pathway is one of the important factors controlling the expansion of infection from latent infected cells.

Free Research Field

ウイルス感染症