HIV continues to infect hundreds of children every day, primarily in low-income countries in Africa. Although the scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) access seen in the past decade has led to a steady decline in new pediatric infections, this downward trend is beginning to level off, partly because of limitations of current HIV prophylactic measures. Poor maternal adherence to ART remains particularly problematic, especially during the postpartum period. Another top public health priority is to care for the 1.7 million children currently living with HIV. Of special concern is the rapid rate at which HIV-infected neonates can progress to AIDS. Indeed, without proper care, >50% of HIV-infected infants die by 2 years of age. Because only a few antiretrovirals are available in formulations suitable for neonates, HIV-exposed/infected infants are often treated with one or two drugs, leading to the selection drug-resistant viruses. Given that only half of children living with HIV were receiving ART at the end of 2017, new therapies capable of achieving a sustained drug-free state of virologic remission are desperately needed.
The goal of this issue is to highlight the unique basic biology of HIV persistence in pediatric populations. We hope to generate a collection of research (including reviews, perspectives, and original research) that will provide new insights into how the development of immunotherapies for long-term control and elimination of HIV reservoirs. We also wish to explore how the unique properties of the immune system in early life can impact the efficacy of immune interventions against HIV.
With this Research Topic we seek articles covering, but not limited to, the following sub-topics:
• Longitudinal pediatric cohorts on and off ART
• Preclinical models of novel HIV therapeutics for infants/children
• Immunopathogenesis of HIV in infants/children
• Immune development in HIV exposed infected and uninfected infants
• Paired Mother/Infant studies.
Topic Editor Mauricio Martins has a consulting financial interest in Emmune, Inc. The other Topic Editors declare no competing interests.
HIV continues to infect hundreds of children every day, primarily in low-income countries in Africa. Although the scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) access seen in the past decade has led to a steady decline in new pediatric infections, this downward trend is beginning to level off, partly because of limitations of current HIV prophylactic measures. Poor maternal adherence to ART remains particularly problematic, especially during the postpartum period. Another top public health priority is to care for the 1.7 million children currently living with HIV. Of special concern is the rapid rate at which HIV-infected neonates can progress to AIDS. Indeed, without proper care, >50% of HIV-infected infants die by 2 years of age. Because only a few antiretrovirals are available in formulations suitable for neonates, HIV-exposed/infected infants are often treated with one or two drugs, leading to the selection drug-resistant viruses. Given that only half of children living with HIV were receiving ART at the end of 2017, new therapies capable of achieving a sustained drug-free state of virologic remission are desperately needed.
The goal of this issue is to highlight the unique basic biology of HIV persistence in pediatric populations. We hope to generate a collection of research (including reviews, perspectives, and original research) that will provide new insights into how the development of immunotherapies for long-term control and elimination of HIV reservoirs. We also wish to explore how the unique properties of the immune system in early life can impact the efficacy of immune interventions against HIV.
With this Research Topic we seek articles covering, but not limited to, the following sub-topics:
• Longitudinal pediatric cohorts on and off ART
• Preclinical models of novel HIV therapeutics for infants/children
• Immunopathogenesis of HIV in infants/children
• Immune development in HIV exposed infected and uninfected infants
• Paired Mother/Infant studies.
Topic Editor Mauricio Martins has a consulting financial interest in Emmune, Inc. The other Topic Editors declare no competing interests.