Study title: Characterization of CD4+ and CD8+ T Cell Responses in HIV-1 C-Clade Infection
HIV-1
infection induces virus-specific immune cells (amongst them CD4+ and
CD8+ T cells) to identify and destroy infected cells. C-Clade infection
is dominant in developing countries so characterising the immune
responses in adults and children in these countries is very important
for designing vaccine candidates. We found that the HIV structural
protein, Gag, was the dominant target of CD8+ and CD4+ T cells in both
adults and infants, and in adults, responses to this protein were
associated with control of HIV-1 infection.
In
addition, we investigated whether treating HIV infected at an early
stage and then stopping treatment after one year would confer some
long-term clinical benefit. We found that this strategy did not confer
any protection against clinical progression. HIV specific CD4+ T cell
responses were detected at very low frequencies in infected infants,
indicating a dysfunctional immune response in untreated HIV infected
infants.
This study
was ultimately able to identify specific HIV-1 epitopes targeted by CD4+
T cells that were associated with control of HIV viremia. These
epitopes require further investigation as potential vaccine targets.
Dr.
Ramduth says that she was very proud to have been involved in such a
research project, which she describes as being an educational and
positive experience on various levels. She feels that it is important to
acknowledge those individuals who made her research project possible,
from the study’s Principal Investigators to the patients themselves.
Dr.
Ramduth currently works for a multinational company, where she is able
to utilise the knowledge gained from her studies in assisting other
researchers in the Bioscience field.