| 研究実績の概要 |
Although the antiretroviral therapy successfully prolongs lives of HIV-infected patients, the current therapy is insufficient to eradicate infected cells. Understanding the molecular characteristic and phenotype of the cells harboring latent provirus is thus crucial for achieving cure. However, distinguishing latently-infected cells from uninfected cells remains a challenge. Taking in consideration of the HIV pandemicity in my home country Tanzania, I first tried to establish a platform to access to blood specimens of HIV-infected patients who successfully treated by antiretroviral therapy at least for 2 years. I have successfully collected whole blood from such patients (about 100), separated
PBMC, and send them to Japan after freezing. Using the collected PBMC, I then quantified the copy number of proviral DNA in a million of PBMC employing the quantitative PCR mathod I have developed. The median copy number of proviral DNA in Tanzania showed within the ranges reported in subtype B-infected patients in the developed contries. I am still trying to amplify near full length proviral genome from some of these patients' specimens. In the meanwhile, I amplified a part of proviral genome in relation to drug resistant mutations, and found that there were merely very few drug-resistant mutations in proviral genome in Tanzania despite nearly 30% of pretreatment drug resistant mutations were found in our recent study in this country.
|
