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Vandamme AM

The rare HIV-1 gp41 mutations 43T and 50V elevate enfuvirtide resistance levels of common enfuvirtide resistance mutations that did not impact susceptibility to sifuvirtide

Mutations that are selected at low frequency and/or reside outside the enfuvirtide target region, amino acid 36-45 of gp41, might still be important determinants for drug resistance.
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Science in court: the myth of HIV fingerprinting.

An Editorial in Nature has emphasised the importance of proper scientific validation of forensic methods before their use in court. Classic fingerprinting, DNA fingerprinting, and brain imaging were discussed, and several cases of doubtful interpretation of forensic evidence with potentially incorrect conviction or exoneration of suspects were indicated.
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DEB025 (Alisporivir) inhibits hepatitis C virus replication by preventing a cyclophilin A induced cis-trans isomerisation in domain II of NS5A

DEB025/Debio 025 (Alisporivir) is a cyclophilin (Cyp)-binding molecule with potent anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) activity both in vitro and in vivo. It is currently being evaluated in phase II clinical trials. DEB025 binds to CypA, a peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase which is a crucial cofactor for HCV replication.
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HIV-1 sub- type distribution and its demographic determinants in newly diagnosed patients in Europe suggest highly compartmentalized epidemics

Understanding HIV-1 subtype distribution and epidemiology can assist preventive measures and clinical decisions. Sequence variation may affect antiviral drug resistance development, disease progression, evolutionary rates and transmission routes.
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Predicted residual activity of rilpivirine in HIV-1 infected patients failing therapy including NNRTIs efavirenz or nevirapine

Rilpivirine is a second-generation nonnucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) currently indicated for first-line therapy, but its clinical benefit for HIV-1 infected patients failing first-generation NNRTIs is largely undefined.This study quantified the extent of genotypic rilpivirine resistance in viral isolates from 1212 patients upon failure of efavirenz- or nevirapine-containing antiretroviral treatment, of whom more than respectively 80% and 90% showed high-level genotypic resistance to the failing NNRTI.
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The genealogical population dynamics of HIV-1 in a large transmission chain: bridging within and among host evolutionary rates

Transmission lies at the interface of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) evolution within and among hosts and separates distinct selective pressures that impose differences in both the mode of diversification and the tempo of evolution. In the absence of comprehensive direct comparative analyses of the evolutionary processes at different biological scales, our understanding of how fast within-host HIV-1 evolutionary rates translate to lower rates at the between host level remains incomplete.
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Trends and predictors of transmitted drug resistance (TDR) and clusters with TDR in a local Belgian HIV-1 epidemic

We aimed to study epidemic trends and predictors for transmitted drug resistance (TDR) in our region, its clinical impact and its association with transmission clusters. We included 778 patients from the AIDS Reference Center in Leuven (Belgium) diagnosed from 1998 to 2012. Resistance testing was performed using population-based sequencing and TDR was estimated using the WHO-2009 surveillance list.
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Clinical and virological response to antiretroviral drugs among HIV patients on first-line treatment in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania

In Tanzania, the follow-up on antiretroviral therapy (ART) response is based on clinical outcomes. We investigated virological response and ARV resistance mutations in relation to clinical response in ARV-treated patients.
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CD80+ and CD86+ B cells as biomarkers and possible therapeutic targets in HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis and multiple sclerosis

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV-1) is the causative agent of the incapacitating, neuroinflammatory disease HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Currently, there are no disease-modifying therapies with long-term clinical benefits or validated biomarkers for clinical follow-up in HAM/TSP.
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