Jeremy Luban, MD
Medical Director, Nepal Orthopedic Hospital
Professor, Program in Molecular Medicine
Joint Appointment, Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
University of Massachusetts School of Medicine
Worcester, Massachusetts

Host:

Mojgan Naghavi, PhD
Professor
Department of Microbiology-Immunology
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago, Illinois

Innate Immunity to HIV-1

HIV-1-infected people who take antiviral drugs that render viremia undetectable have ongoing inflammation of unknown etiology. The HIV-1 provirus, a permanent genetic element in long-lived cells of the immune system, is not eliminated by antiviral drugs, and is therefore a possible contributor to this inflammation. Our results indicate that Rev-dependent, intron-containing, HIV-1 RNA is detected by the innate immune system, and that drugs which inhibit HIV-1 transcription or Rev-dependent, HIV-1 RNA metabolism, would add qualitative benefit to current antiviral drug regimens.