The immunodeficiency syndrome AIDS, caused by HIV infection, ranks amongst the top ten causes of death worldwide. Antiviral therapies make the disease treatable, enabling longer life expectancy and decreases the rate of new infections. However, even in long-term treatment the virus remains in the body and becomes reactivated when treatment is discontinued. To date, neither curative drugs nor preventive vaccines are available despite intensive studies. Different virus subtypes and virus variability hamper the development of such drugs and therapies.
Scientists at the DZIF are concentrating their research on both remission and cure, i.e. reducing viral loads and reservoirs. One focus of research is early infection, as the likelihood of remission or cure is higher when the virus has only been in the body for a short time. In these projects, DZIF scientists are pursuing gene therapy approaches, such as targeted excision of the viral genome from human DNA. Other studies are investigating viral latency: How can latent viruses hidden in the body be coaxed out of hiding so that they can be targeted? Broadly neutralising antibodies, which reduce the viral load in HIV infection, are another important area of research.
Central Themes
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Remission and cure
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The main focus is on strategies to fight HIV latency, excising or destroying integrated virus genomes and using the immune system to improve viral load management.
