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Why can't the immune system control HIV-1? defining HIV-1-specific CD4+ T cell immunity in order to develop strategies to enhance viral immunity

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Abstract

Globally, at least 60 million people have been infected with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), the majority of whom will develop the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) leading to tremendous morbidity and the mortality. Understanding the immunopathogenesis of AIDS and the immune correlates of viral protection are necessary to develop effective vaccines and immunotherapies. A major focus of our laboratory has been to understand the CD4+ T cell immune response directed against HIV-1, and to determine mechanisms of T cell dysfunction that lead to viral escape. In addition, we are interested in evaluating the TNF-TNFR family members as potential molecular adjuvants that could be incorporated into vaccines which could be used to further boost T cell immunogenicity in healthy or HIV-1-infected individuals, as many of these molecules have been shown to replace the functions of CD4+ T cell help.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. St. Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Mario A. Ostrowski

  2. CIRC (Canadian Immunodeficiency Research Collaborative, Toronto, Canada

    Mona Loutfy, Colin M. Kovacs & Roberta Halpenny

  3. Dept. of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Mario A. Ostrowski, Qigui Yu, Feng Yun Yue, Jun Liu, Brad Jones & Xiao X. Gu

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  1. Mario A. Ostrowski
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  2. Qigui Yu
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  3. Feng Yun Yue
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  4. Jun Liu
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  5. Brad Jones
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  6. Xiao X. Gu
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  7. Mona Loutfy
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  8. Colin M. Kovacs
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  9. Roberta Halpenny
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Correspondence to Mario A. Ostrowski.

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Ostrowski, M.A., Yu, Q., Yue, F.Y. et al. Why can't the immune system control HIV-1? defining HIV-1-specific CD4+ T cell immunity in order to develop strategies to enhance viral immunity. Immunol Res 35, 89–101 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1385/IR:35:1:89

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