How HIV subtype C changes and hides in the brain and immune cells
Evolution and Latency of T-Tropic and M-Tropic HIV in People Infected with Subtype C
This project looks at how the most common form of HIV (subtype C) changes over time and creates hidden reservoirs in the brain and immune cells of people living with HIV.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11251323 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From my perspective as someone affected by HIV, researchers will use donated autopsy tissue from people who had subtype C HIV to map how the virus spreads and evolves in the body and brain. They will grow human brain cells in the lab, infect them with virus from those tissues, and perform detailed single-nucleus and genetic analyses to find virus types that prefer macrophages and cells that can hide the virus. The work builds on a unique tissue repository in South Africa and laboratory models developed in Chapel Hill, combining human samples with controlled cell-culture experiments. Together these methods aim to identify where latent HIV persists in the CNS and lymphoid tissues and how subtype C differs from the better-studied subtype B.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are people living with HIV subtype C who can consent to post-mortem tissue donation or participate in linked clinical cohorts that provide samples for research.
Not a fit: People with other HIV subtypes or those seeking immediate changes to their clinical care are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this laboratory and tissue-based research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new ways to target HIV reservoirs in the brain and immune system and inform strategies to prevent or reverse latency.
How similar studies have performed: Related studies of subtype B HIV have clarified how macrophage-tropic variants and latency arise, but applying these approaches to subtype C is less common and represents new work in that context.
Where this research is happening
Chapel Hill, United States
- Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill — Chapel Hill, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Swanstrom, Ronald I — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Swanstrom, Ronald I
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.