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

New Canadian study reveals where HIV hides in different parts of the body

2025-10-06
(Press-News.org) New Canadian study reveals where HIV hides in different parts of the body

Researchers at Western University and the University of Calgary have discovered how HIV hides in different parts of the body by embedding itself into the DNA of cells in a tissue-specific manner, offering new insights into why the virus is so difficult to eliminate and cure – even decades after infection and treatment.

The study, led by Western University’s Stephen Barr and UCalgary’s Guido van Marle, reveals that HIV cloaks itself in the DNA of infected cells using unique DNA patterns in the brain, blood and parts of the digestive tract. For example, in the brain, the virus avoids genes and hides in less active parts of the DNA.

The findings were published by the high impact journal Communications Medicine.

“We found that HIV doesn’t integrate randomly. Instead, it follows unique patterns in different tissues, possibly shaped by the local environment and immune responses,” said Barr, microbiology and immunology professor at Western’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. “This helps explain how HIV manages to persist in the body for decades, and why certain tissues may act as reservoirs of infection.”

For the study, Barr, van Marle and their collaborators at the Southern Alberta HIV Clinic and University of Alberta used rare tissue samples from people living with the virus during the early years of the HIV/AIDS pandemic (around 1993), before modern treatment existed. This gave the researchers a unique opportunity to look at how the virus behaved in its natural state across different organs – all within the same individuals.

“Our study is a powerful example of how we can learn from historic samples to better understand a virus that continues to affect tens of millions of people worldwide,” said Barr.

The research team acknowledges the individuals who volunteered to participate in studies during the early, uncertain days of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

“Their willingness to contribute samples, at a time of stigma, fear and with limited treatment options, was an act of bravery, foresight and generosity that continues to advance scientific understanding of HIV and save lives today,” said van Marle, microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases professor at UCalgary’s Cumming School of Medicine.  

New targeted attack

For this novel Canadian approach to understanding HIV, the researchers investigated historic samples taken from the esophagus, blood, stomach, small intestine and colon of individuals with unmatched brain tissue from other individuals. They evaluated how often the virus integrated into specific regions of the genome and compared these patterns across various tissues from different individuals.

“Knowing where the virus hides in our genomes will help us identify ways to target those cells and tissues with targeted therapeutic approaches – either by eliminating these cells or ‘silencing’ the virus,” said van Marle.

The research was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the National Health Research and Development Program and builds on years of collaborative work between Western, UCalgary, the Southern Alberta HIV Clinic and UAlberta.

“Studies like this are highly collaborative and only possible when many of us work together,” said Barr. 

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Lidocaine poisonings rise despite overall drop in local anesthetic toxicity

2025-10-06
Over the last decade, poisonings and deaths linked to the use of local anesthetics have decreased. Even so, poisonings from one commonly used anesthetic, lidocaine, have increased in the United States, according to two new studies from the University of Illinois Chicago. By analyzing data from reports to national Poison Control Centers and to the Food and Drug Administration from 2010 to 2020, UIC researchers found total reports of poisonings fell 50% in that period. But poisonings from lidocaine increased more than 50% in less than half that ...

Politics follow you on the road

2025-10-06
Nobody wants to admit that a lowly bumper sticker can influence their behavior. But researchers at the University of Cincinnati found that drivers were far more likely to honk after being cut off by a vehicle bearing a political bumper sticker, particularly one for the opposing political party. “Bumper stickers are a meaningful way in which partisan divides are reinforced in everyday life,” UC researchers concluded. “They have tangible impacts on road safety. Partisan bumper stickers may be mundane, but they are not trivial.” For a study published in the journal Frontiers in Political Science, UC Assistant ...

Scientists blaze new path to fighting viral diseases

2025-10-06
JUPITER, Fla. — In a quest to develop new antiviral drugs for COVID-19 and other diseases, a collaboration led by scientists at The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute has identified a potential new drug against the virus that causes COVID-19. In the process, the team devised a powerful new platform for finding medicines to fight many types of infectious diseases. Writing in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, in an online article posted on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, the scientists said they began by seeking ...

The mouse eye as a window to spotting systemic disease

2025-10-06
A new method of taking microscopic images of a live mouse’s retina through the eye allows to record the reaction of brain cells to disease and treatment. The Kobe University development is more easily applicable than previous methods and promises to advance research on and treatment of vision-related diseases. Diabetic retinopathy, a form of diabetic eye disease, is one of the leading causes of blindness around the globe. “It’s understood that vision is lost due to damage to the blood vessels in the retina, but recent research has identified that abnormalities in neurons and immune cells begin prior to vascular damage,” says Kobe ...

AI and the Future of Cancer Research and Cancer Care to headline October 24 gathering of global oncology leaders at the National Press Club: NFCR Global Summit to feature top scientists, entrepreneurs

2025-10-06
Rockville, MD. (October 6, 2025) – The 2025 NFCR Global Summit and Award Ceremonies for Cancer Research & Entrepreneurship will convene an extraordinary roster of world-renowned scientists, entrepreneurs, investors, and patient advocates on October 24, 2025, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. This is a signature annual gathering where the leaders driving the future of oncology come together under one roof to challenge the status quo, reveal bold ideas, share insights, and spark collaborations that shape what’s next in cancer research ...

FDA clears UCLA heart tissue regeneration drug AD-NP1 for clinical trials

2025-10-06
Key takeaways Internal organ tissues often don’t heal after illness or injury and lose some function, such as the heart after a heart attack. UCLA cardiologists have identified a protein that interferes with healing. Funded entirely by federal and state grants, the researchers developed a drug to block this protein and promote tissue regeneration. The FDA has now granted approval to begin Phase I clinical trials of the first-in-class drug for tissue repair, called AD-NP1, in humans. The body’s tissues can get injured in many ways, but while some injuries ...

Exploring the therapeutic potential of cannabidiol for Alzheimer's

2025-10-06
Neuroinflammation damages neurons and can contribute to diseases like Alzheimer’s. Cannabidiol (CBD) has anti-inflammatory properties, which suggests that it could combat neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s. In a new eNeuro paper, Babak Baban and colleagues, from Augusta University, explored whether CBD can be leveraged as an antiinflammatory treatment in an established Alzheimer’s disease mouse model.    The researchers assessed two distinct mechanisms for shaping immune responses and regulating neuroinflammation ...

We need a solar sail probe to detect space tornadoes earlier, more accurately, U-M researchers say

2025-10-06
Images Spirals of solar wind can spin off larger solar eruptions and disrupt Earth's magnetic field, yet they are too difficult to detect with our current single-location warning system, according to a new study from the University of Michigan.    But a constellation of spacecraft, including one that sails on sunlight, could help find the tornado-like features in time to protect equipment on Earth and in orbit. The study results come from computer simulations of a massive cloud of plasma erupting from the sun and moving through the solar system. Because the simulation covers features that span ...

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML): Disease risk but not remission status determines transplant outcomes – new ASAP long-term results

2025-10-06
The selection of patients for allo-HSCT and the best approach to bridging patients to transplantation is continuously discussed by experts. The first results of the ASAP study (ASAP standing for “as soon as possible”), published in 2024, have already attracted considerable attention [2]. ASAP questions existing treatment standards for AML and was the first randomized controlled trial to compare remission induction with salvage chemotherapy prior to allo-HSCT – which represents ...

Sperm microRNAs: Key regulators of the paternal transmission of exercise capacity

2025-10-06
In a recent study published in Cell Metabolism, a collaborative research team led by Chen-Yu Zhang, Xi Chen, and Di-Jun Chen from Nanjing University, together with Tao Zhang from Nanjing Medical University, reported groundbreaking findings in their paper entitled “Paternal exercise confers endurance capacity to offspring through sperm microRNAs.” This research provides the first evidence that sperm microRNAs act as carriers of epigenetic information, enabling the intergenerational transmission of paternal ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New software tool MARTi fast-tracks identification and response to microbial threats

Rare brain cell may hold the key to preventing schizophrenia symptoms

A new tool to find hidden ‘zombie cells’

New Cleveland Clinic research finds up to 5% of Americans carry genetic mutations associated with cancer risk

Once tadpoles lose lungs, they never get them back

Small group of users drive invasive species awareness on social media

One bad safety review can tank an Airbnb booking — Even among thousands of positive ones, new study finds

Text-based system speeds up hospital discharges to long-term care

California schools are losing tree canopy

How people learn computer programming

Exploring a mechanism of psychedelics

Scientists can now explore mechanisms behind attachment issues

Researchers watched students’ brains as they learned to program

An AI-powered lifestyle intervention vs human coaching in the diabetes prevention program

AI-powered diabetes prevention program shows similar benefits to those led by people

New study may transform diagnosis of Britain’s number one cancer

Stillbirths in the United States

How animals get their spots, and why they are beautifully imperfect

Stillbirths in the U.S. higher than previously reported, often occur with no clinical risk factors

Durability of 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines against JN.1 subvariants

Online unsupervised Tai Chi intervention for knee pain and function in people with knee osteoarthritis

A nose for microbes: how hunger tunes the brain

TRF1 protein loss reduces body fat and improves metabolic health in mice without shortening telomeres

JMIR Medical Education invites submissions on bias, diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence in medical education

SwRI receives $9.9 million contract to assess reliability of F-16 landing gear components

Computer scientists build AI tool to spot risky and unenforceable contract terms

Self-affirmations can boost well-being, study finds

New certification helps clinicians advance digital cardiac care

Why earthquakes sometimes still occur in tectonically silent regions

Music therapy during surgery reduces anesthetic use and stress responses

[Press-News.org] New Canadian study reveals where HIV hides in different parts of the body