PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Scientists uncover features of antibody-producing cells in people infected with HIV

Abnormalities may explain poor antibody response in those who are infected but untreated

2014-06-03
(Press-News.org) WHAT: By analyzing the blood of almost 100 treated and untreated HIV-infected volunteers, a team of scientists has identified previously unknown characteristics of B cells in the context of HIV infection. B cells are the immune system cells that make antibodies to HIV and other pathogens. The findings augment the current understanding of how HIV disease develops and have implications for the timing of treatment. Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, led the study.

Using advanced tools to probe B-cell responses to HIV and other pathogens in the laboratory, the researchers found that the B cells that make antibodies to HIV in infected, untreated people are abnormal in that they are more activated, unstable and unresponsive to further stimulation than normal B cells, and also are infrequently observed in healthy people. This finding may help explain why HIV-specific antibodies naturally produced by HIV-infected people do not clear the infection, according to the scientists.

The researchers also observed that when HIV-infected people start antiretroviral therapy, their B-cell response to HIV diminishes quantitatively but improves qualitatively, with normal B cells dominating. However, the earlier a person starts treatment for HIV, the greater their capacity to maintain their pre-treatment level of B-cell response to the virus. An HIV antibody response from primarily normal B cells correlated with both a low amount of virus in the blood (viral load) and a low level of immune activation. According to the scientists, more research is needed to determine whether normal B cells lead to a more effective antibody response than abnormal B cells, and whether HIV-infected people who maintain a low viral load and low immune activation generate a better B-cell response than people who have a higher viral load and a higher degree of immune activation.

Finally, the scientists observed that the B-cell response to HIV is unlike the B-cell responses to other pathogens in the same people. For instance, when researchers exposed the volunteers' blood cells to a tetanus probe, they observed a relatively normal B-cell response. This was likely, they say, because the volunteers had been vaccinated for tetanus before they became infected with HIV, had a normal B-cell response then, and maintained the normal response for years. However, the volunteers' B-cell response to influenza was less normal than their response to tetanus, probably because they had been exposed to certain strains of influenza after acquiring HIV, but more normal than their response to HIV.

Taken together, the study findings add to the growing body of evidence indicating that starting HIV treatment early benefits the health of infected individuals, according to the scientists.

INFORMATION: ARTICLE: L Kardava et al. Abnormal B cell memory subsets dominate HIV-specific responses in infected individuals. The Journal of Clinical Investigation DOI: 10.1172/JCI74351 (2014).

WHO: Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., NIAID director and chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation (LIR); and Susan Moir, Ph.D., LIR associate scientist, are available for comment.

CONTACT: To schedule interviews, please contact Laura S. Leifman, (301) 402-1663, laura.sivitz@nih.gov.

NIAID conducts and supports research—at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide—to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov/.

NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health ®


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

The quest for the bionic arm

2014-06-03
ROSEMONT, Ill.—In the past 13 years, nearly 2,000 veterans returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with injuries requiring amputations; 14 percent of those injured veterans required upper extremity amputations. To treat veterans with upper extremity amputations, scientists continue to pursue research and development of bionic arms and hands with full motor and sensory function. An article appearing in the June issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS) reviews the recent advancements in upper extremity bionics and the challenges that remain ...

Stopping the spread of breast cancer

2014-06-03
CHICAGO – The primary cause of death from breast cancer is the spread of tumor cells from the breast to other organs in the body. Northwestern Medicine® scientists have discovered a new pathway that can stop breast cancer cells from spreading. Working with human breast cancer cells and mouse models of breast cancer, scientists identified a new protein that plays a key role in reprogramming cancer cells to migrate and invade other organs. When that protein is removed from cancer cells in mice, the ability of the cells to metastasize to the lung is dramatically decreased. The ...

A new look at old forests

A new look at old forests
2014-06-03
WOODS HOLE, Mass.— As forests age, their ability to grow decreases, a new study by Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) scientists and colleagues has determined. Since most U.S. forests are maturing from regeneration that began about 100 years ago when extensive clear-cutting occurred, the study suggests the future growth of U.S. forests will decline. "All forests are in succession: They get old, die (due to fire, insects, hurricane, etc.), and regenerate. This paper improves on a fundamental theory in ecosystem development: How a forest evolves over time. It demonstrates ...

With developing world's policy support, global renewable energy generation capacity jumps to record

With developing worlds policy support, global renewable energy generation capacity jumps to record
2014-06-03
The number of emerging economy nations with policies in place to support the expansion of renewable energy has surged more than six-fold in just eight years, from 15 developing countries in 2005 to 95 early this year. Those 95 developing nations today make up the vast majority of the 144 countries with renewable energy support policies and targets in place, says REN21's Renewables 2014 Global Status Report. And the rise of developing world support contrasts with declining support and renewables policy uncertainty and even retroactive support reductions in some European ...

Liver cancer vaccine effective in mice

Liver cancer vaccine effective in mice
2014-06-03
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Tweaking a protein expressed by most liver cancer cells has enabled scientists to make a vaccine that is exceedingly effective at preventing the disease in mice. Alpha-Fetoprotein, or AFP – normally expressed during development and by liver cancer cells as well – has escaped attack in previous vaccine iterations because the body recognizes it as "self," said Dr. Yukai He, immunologist at the Medical College of Georgia and Georgia Regents University Cancer Center. Liver cancer is among the fastest-growing and deadliest cancers in the United States with ...

Spiders know the meaning of web music

2014-06-03
Spider silk transmits vibrations across a wide range of frequencies so that, when plucked like a guitar string, its sound carries information about prey, mates, and even the structural integrity of a web. The discovery was made by researchers from the Universities of Oxford, Strathclyde, and Sheffield who fired bullets and lasers at spider silk to study how it vibrates. They found that, uniquely, when compared to other materials, spider silk can be tuned to a wide range of harmonics. The findings, to be reported in the journal Advanced Materials, not only reveal more ...

'Liquid biopsy' offers new way to track lung cancer

2014-06-03
Scientists have shown how a lung cancer patient's blood sample could be used to monitor and predict their response to treatment – paving the way for personalised medicine for the disease. The recent study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, also offers a method to test new therapies in the lab and to better understand how tumours become resistant to drugs. Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive disease with poor survival and new treatments are desperately needed. In many cases the tumour is inoperable and biopsies are difficult to obtain, giving scientists ...

New insight into drug resistance in metastatic melanoma

2014-06-03
A study by scientists in Manchester has shown how melanoma drugs can cause the cancer to progress once a patient has stopped responding to treatment. Their findings suggest that using a combination of targeted therapies may be a more effective approach in the clinic. Melanoma is a form of cancer that develops from melanocytes – the pigment-producing cells in skin. Advanced metastatic melanoma – where the cancer has spread throughout the body – is associated with poor survival, so new treatments are urgently needed. In about 50% of melanoma cases, the tumour contains ...

Notifying speeding mariners lowers ship speeds in areas with North Atlantic right whales

Notifying speeding mariners lowers ship speeds in areas with North Atlantic right whales
2014-06-03
There are only around 500 North Atlantic right whales alive today. In an effort to further protect these critically endangered animals, a recent NOAA regulation required large vessels to reduce speed in areas seasonally occupied by the whales. The policy of notifying--but not necessarily citing--speeding vessels in protected areas was effective in lowering their speeds, helping to protect these magnificent creatures from ship collisions, while keeping punitive fines to mariners to a minimum. A NOAA regulation, instituted in December 2008, requires vessels 65 feet or greater ...

Findings show benefit of changing measure of kidney disease progression

2014-06-03
Developing therapies for kidney disease can be made faster by adopting a new, more sensitive definition of kidney disease progression, according to a study published by JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association Congress. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a worldwide public health problem, with increasing prevalence, poor outcomes, and high treatment cost. Yet, despite the avail¬ability of simple laboratory tests to identify people with earlier stages of ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Exercise as an anti-ageing intervention to avoid detrimental impact of mental fatigue

UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’

New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening

Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition

CCNY physicists uncover electronic interactions mediated via spin waves

Researchers’ 3D-printing formula may transform future of foam

Nurture more important than nature for robotic hand

Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for one-two knockout punch

New study finds that over 95% of sponsored influencer posts on Twitter were not disclosed

New sea grant report helps great lakes fish farmers navigate aquaculture regulations

Strain “trick” improves perovskite solar cells’ efficiency

How GPS helps older drivers stay on the roads

Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the body to make opioids

Dancing with the cells – how acoustically levitating a diamond led to a breakthrough in biotech automation

Machine learning helps construct an evolutionary timeline of bacteria

Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed... offering new therapeutic options

Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity

Finding their way: GPS ignites independence in older adult drivers

Antibiotic resistance among key bacterial species plateaus over time

‘Some insects are declining but what’s happening to the other 99%?’

Powerful new software platform could reshape biomedical research by making data analysis more accessible

Revealing capillaries and cells in living organs with ultrasound

American College of Physicians awards $260,000 in grants to address equity challenges in obesity care

Researchers from MARE ULisboa discover that the European catfish, an invasive species in Portugal, has a prolonged breeding season, enhancing its invasive potential

Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, FAACR, honored with the 2025 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research

Solar cells made of moon dust could power future space exploration

Deporting immigrants may further shrink the health care workforce

Border region emergency medical services in migrant emergency care

Resident physician intentions regarding unionization

[Press-News.org] Scientists uncover features of antibody-producing cells in people infected with HIV
Abnormalities may explain poor antibody response in those who are infected but untreated