带有年龄结构和抗药物治疗的HIV模型

HIV/AIDS个体的传染力受感染年龄的影响,抗药物治疗可有效控制其传播.根据这些特点,建立了带有感染年龄和抗药物治疗的HIV模型,分析了系统解的存在性,利用Lyapunov函数研究了系统稳态解的稳定性.     

HIV chemotherapy

The use of chemotherapy to suppress replication of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has transformed the face of AIDS in the developed world. Pronounced reductions in illness and death have been achieved and healthcare utilization has diminished. HIV therapy has also provided many new insights into the pathogenesis and the viral and cellular dynamics of HIV infection. But challenges remain. Treatment does not suppress HIV replication in all patients, and the emergence of drug-resistant virus hinders subsequent treatment. Chronic therapy can also result in toxicity. These challenges prompt the search for new drugs and new therapeutic strategies to control chronic viral replication.     

HIV的病原学研究进展

人类免疫缺陷病毒(Human Immunodeficiency Virus,简称HIV)是导致艾滋病的病原体。研究HIV的病原学是认识HIV的致病机理、寻找有效的抗病毒治疗的靶位、设计HIV疫苗和诊断方法并最终控制艾滋病的基础。自从1983年HIV被分离出以来,HIV的病原学研究取得了长足进展：阐明了HIV的形态、结构以及病毒各个组成部分的功能;了解了HIV的复制和生命周期,并对病毒复制的调控有了基本的认识;对HIV在体内的动态和变异规律有了深入的了解;在上述认识的基础上,对HIV的致病机理以及病毒与宿主细胞的相互作用进行了深入的研究并取得了良好的进展。但是,艾滋病的抗病毒治疗和特异性免疫预防还远没有解决。开展深入的艾滋病病原学和致病机理研究,进一步揭示病毒复制、调控和致病的分子机制,阐明病毒与宿主细胞的相互作用,是发展新型抗药物、设计有效的HIV疫苗的前提和保证。本文概括了HIV病原学研究领域的主要进展,并提出了今后研究的展望。     

Isolation of a human gene that inhibits HIV-1 infection and is suppressed by the viral Vif protein

Viruses have developed diverse non-immune strategies to counteract host-mediated mechanisms that confer resistance to infection. The Vif (virion infectivity factor) proteins are encoded by primate immunodeficiency viruses, most notably human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1). These proteins are potent regulators of virus infection and replication and are consequently essential for pathogenic infections in vivo. HIV-1 Vif seems to be required during the late stages of virus production for the suppression of an innate antiviral phenotype that resides in human T lymphocytes. Thus, in the absence of Vif, expression of this phenotype renders progeny virions non-infectious. Here, we describe a unique cellular gene, CEM15, whose transient or stable expression in cells that do not normally express CEM15 recreates this phenotype, but whose antiviral action is overcome by the presence of Vif. Because the Vif:CEM15 regulatory circuit is critical for HIV-1 replication, perturbing the circuit may be a promising target for future HIV/AIDS therapies.     

Tat-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes select for SIV escape variants during resolution of primary viraemia

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infections are characterized by early peaks of viraemia that decline as strong cellular immune responses develop. Although it has been shown that virus-specific CD8-positive cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) exert selective pressure during HIV and SIV infection, the data have been controversial. Here we show that Tat-specific CD8-positive T-lymphocyte responses select for new viral escape variants during the acute phase of infection. We sequenced the entire virus immediately after the acute phase, and found that amino-acid replacements accumulated primarily in Tat CTL epitopes. This implies that Tat-specific CTLs may be significantly involved in controlling wild-type virus replication, and suggests that responses against viral proteins that are expressed early during the viral life cycle might be attractive targets for HIV vaccine development.     

RNA interference-mediated inhibition of Hepatitis B Virus replication

Persistent and recurrent infection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) represents one of the most common and severe viral infections of humans, and has caused a formidable health problem in the affected countries. Currently used antiviral drugs have a very limited success on controlling HBV replication and infection. RNA interference (RNAi), a process by which double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) directs sequence-specific degradation of target mRNA in mammalian and plant cells, has recently been used to knockdown gene expression in various species. In this study, we sought to determine whether RNAi-mediated silencing of HBV viral gene expression could lead to the effective inhibition of HBV replication. We first developed RNAi vectors that expressed small interfering RNA (siRNA) and targeted the HBV core or surface gene sequence. Our results demonstrated that these specific siRNAs efficiently reduced the levels of corresponding viral RNAs and proteins, and thus suppressed viral replication. Treatment with siRNA gave the greatest reduction in the levels of HBsAg (92%) and in HBeAg (85%) respectively in the cultured cell medium. Our findings further demonstrated that the RNAi-mediated antiviral effect was sequence-specific and dose-dependent. Therefore, our findings strongly suggest that RNAi-mediated silencing of HBV viral genes could effectively inhibit the replication of HBV, hence RNAi-based strategy should be further explored as a more efficacious antiviral therapy of HBV infection.     

Drosophila RNAi screen identifies host genes important for influenza virus replication

All viruses rely on host cell proteins and their associated mechanisms to complete the viral life cycle. Identifying the host molecules that participate in each step of virus replication could provide valuable new targets for antiviral therapy, but this goal may take several decades to achieve with conventional forward genetic screening methods and mammalian cell cultures. Here we describe a novel genome-wide RNA interference (RNAi) screen in Drosophila that can be used to identify host genes important for influenza virus replication. After modifying influenza virus to allow infection of Drosophila cells and detection of influenza virus gene expression, we tested an RNAi library against 13,071 genes (90% of the Drosophila genome), identifying over 100 for which suppression in Drosophila cells significantly inhibited or stimulated reporter gene (Renilla luciferase) expression from an influenza-virus-derived vector. The relevance of these findings to influenza virus infection of mammalian cells is illustrated for a subset of the Drosophila genes identified; that is, for three implicated Drosophila genes, the corresponding human homologues ATP6V0D1, COX6A1 and NXF1 are shown to have key functions in the replication of H5N1 and H1N1 influenza A viruses, but not vesicular stomatitis virus or vaccinia virus, in human HEK 293 cells. Thus, we have demonstrated the feasibility of using genome-wide RNAi screens in Drosophila to identify previously unrecognized host proteins that are required for influenza virus replication. This could accelerate the development of new classes of antiviral drugs for chemoprophylaxis and treatment, which are urgently needed given the obstacles to rapid development of an effective vaccine against pandemic influenza and the probable emergence of strains resistant to available drugs.     

Polyreactivity increases the apparent affinity of anti-HIV antibodies by heteroligation

During immune responses, antibodies are selected for their ability to bind to foreign antigens with high affinity, in part by their ability to undergo homotypic bivalent binding. However, this type of binding is not always possible. For example, the small number of gp140 glycoprotein spikes displayed on the surface of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disfavours homotypic bivalent antibody binding. Here we show that during the human antibody response to HIV, somatic mutations that increase antibody affinity also increase breadth and neutralizing potency. Surprisingly, the responding naive and memory B cells produce polyreactive antibodies, which are capable of bivalent heteroligation between one high-affinity anti-HIV-gp140 combining site and a second low-affinity site on another molecular structure on HIV. Although cross-reactivity to self-antigens or polyreactivity is strongly selected against during B-cell development, it is a common serologic feature of certain infections in humans, including HIV, Epstein-Barr virus and hepatitis C virus. Seventy-five per cent of the 134 monoclonal anti-HIV-gp140 antibodies cloned from six patients with high titres of neutralizing antibodies are polyreactive. Despite the low affinity of the polyreactive combining site, heteroligation demonstrably increases the apparent affinity of polyreactive antibodies to HIV.     

An siRNA-based microbicide protects mice from lethal herpes simplex virus 2 infection

Herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) infection causes significant morbidity and is an important cofactor for the transmission of HIV infection. A microbicide to prevent sexual transmission of HSV-2 would contribute substantially to controlling the spread of HIV and other infections. Because RNA interference (RNAi) provides effective antiviral defence in plants and other organisms, several studies have focused on harnessing RNAi to inhibit viral infection. Here we show that vaginal instillation of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targeting HSV-2 protects mice from lethal infection. siRNAs mixed with lipid are efficiently taken up by epithelial and lamina propria cells and silence gene expression in the mouse vagina and ectocervix for at least nine days. Intravaginal application of siRNAs targeting the HSV-2 UL27 and UL29 genes (which encode an envelope glycoprotein and a DNA binding protein, respectively) was well tolerated, did not induce interferon-responsive genes or cause inflammation, and protected mice when administered before and/or after lethal HSV-2 challenge. These results suggest that siRNAs are attractive candidates for the active component of a microbicide designed to prevent viral infection or transmission.     

具有CTL免疫反应的HIV模型的性态分析

研究一个三维的具有CTL免疫反应的细胞对细胞作用的HIV数学模型,利用Lyapunov-LaSalle不变原理,给出该模型的全局性态分析.最后数值模拟验证结论.     

Investigating Genotype 1a HCV Drug Resistance in NS5A Region via Bayesian Inference

Hepatitis C virus(HCV) treatment is on the cutting edge of medicine. Due to the high rate of mutations and low fidelity of HCV replication, resistant strains quickly become dominant in a viral population under the selection pressure of a drug. In this paper, we examined the drug resistance mechanism in the NS5 A region of genotype1 a HCV virus by comparing the sequence data from interferon-ribavirin treated and untreated patients. To find the drug resistance difference, we used innovative Bayesian probability models to detect mutation combinations and inferred detailed interaction structures of these mutations. We aim to provide reference to drug design and mutation mechanism understanding through our work.     

乙肝病毒感染数量的一个数学模型

乙型肝炎是由乙型肝炎病毒(HBV)引起的肝病,该病毒干扰肝功能并造成病理损害.一小部分受感染者无法消灭该病毒而成为慢性感染,进而面临极高的死于肝硬化和肝癌的危险.乙型肝炎病毒通过与受感染者的血液或体液接触传播,这与人类免疫缺陷病毒(艾滋病毒)的方式相同.但是,乙型肝炎病毒的感染性比艾滋病毒高50至100倍.接种乙型肝炎疫苗是预防乙型肝炎的主要方法.如何有效防控乙肝的传染,不只是政府的事,也是每个国民应关注的问题.文章建立一个乙肝病毒传染的数学模型,并对模型进行实证分析;同时,对乙肝病毒的传染也做了一个预测.     

新疆HIV传播的动力学分析与模拟

通过对HIV病毒传播机理的分析,利用动力学方法建立HIV传播的动力学模型,分析影响疾病传播和控制的关键因素.通过模型分析得到了决定疾病传播与否的基本再生数R0,证明了R01时疾病将会消除,R01时疾病将变成一种地方病.用收集和估计的参数对模型进行了数值模拟,分析新疆HIV的流行状况,给出了模型参数的敏感性分析.     

一类关于HIV-1细胞到细胞传播的比率依赖时滞模型

研究了一类二维比率依赖模型,它描述了在组织培养皿未充分混合的情况下HIV 1的细胞到细胞的传播,并且假设感染是直接从感染细胞到健康细胞忽略了自由病毒的影响,本文研究了三类模型的稳定性:常微分方程模型的全局渐近稳定性,离散时滞微分方程模型的绝对稳定性及具有分布时滞的模型的Hopf分支.     

SLAM (CDw150) is a cellular receptor for measles virus

Measles virus continues to be a major killer of children, claiming roughly one million lives a year. Measles virus infection causes profound immunosuppression, which makes measles patients susceptible to secondary infections accounting for high morbidity and mortality. The Edmonston strain of measles virus, and vaccine strains derived from it, use as a cellular receptor human CD46 (refs 3, 4), which is expressed on all nucleated cells; however, most clinical isolates of measles virus cannot use CD46 as a receptor. Here we show that human SLAM (signalling lymphocyte-activation molecule; also known as CDw150), a recently discovered membrane glycoprotein expressed on some T and B cells, is a cellular receptor for measles virus, including the Edmonston strain. Transfection with a human SLAM complementary DNA enables non-susceptible cell lines to bind measles virus, support measles virus replication and develop cytopathic effects. The distribution of SLAM on various cell lines is consistent with their susceptibility to clinical isolates of measles virus. The identification of SLAM as a receptor for measles virus opens the way to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of measles virus infection, especially the immunosuppression induced by measles virus.     

Incubation period of AIDS in San Francisco

In a closed population, the distribution of AIDS diagnoses over time is the convolution of the distributions of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections and the incubation period. This has motivated estimates of the infection distribution, assuming known diagnosis and incubation distributions, but the usefulness of this method is limited by uncertainty about incubation. The large amount of information on the distribution of HIV infections in San Francisco's gay community suggests the opposite approach--estimating the incubation distribution, assuming known infection and diagnosis distributions. A non-parametric implementation of this strategy produced an estimate with a median at 9.8 years, increasing hazard rates, and less uncertainty than previous estimates.     

HIV preferentially infects HIV-specific CD4+ T cells

HIV infection is associated with the progressive loss of CD4(+) T cells through their destruction or decreased production. A central, yet unresolved issue of HIV disease is the mechanism for this loss, and in particular whether HIV-specific CD4(+) T cells are preferentially affected. Here we show that HIV-specific memory CD4(+) T cells in infected individuals contain more HIV viral DNA than other memory CD4(+) T cells, at all stages of HIV disease. Additionally, following viral rebound during interruption of antiretroviral therapy, the frequency of HIV viral DNA in the HIV-specific pool of memory CD4(+) T cells increases to a greater extent than in memory CD4(+) T cells of other specificities. These findings show that HIV-specific CD4(+) T cells are preferentially infected by HIV in vivo. This provides a potential mechanism to explain the loss of HIV-specific CD4(+) T-cell responses, and consequently the loss of immunological control of HIV replication. Furthermore, the phenomenon of HIV specifically infecting the very cells that respond to it adds a cautionary note to the practice of structured therapy interruption.