Researchers in Baltimore have discovered a pathway in the immune system through which HIV can stay in the human body for years. According to a new study, patients who had suppressed HIV infections for years with antiretroviral medication can acquire HIV in myeloid cells (a type of white blood cell).
The researchers utilised a new reduction method in the study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, to demonstrate that HIV can reactivate in particular myeloid cells and infect new cells. According to the findings of the study, which were published in the journal Nature Microbiology, myeloid cells play a role in the long term by making HIV a key yet unclear target for eradication efforts. “Our work calls into question the commonly held belief that monocytes (a type of white blood cell) that are necessary for treatment have a very short life span,” study author Rebecca Weinheis of Johns Hopkins University said. Well, he added, these cells have a short duration
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