About this Research Topic
Despite extensive research, there is currently no cure for HIV-1 infection and current therapies are limited to antiretroviral therapy (ART). Though ART is effective when taken regularly, viral rebound occurs in the majority of people living with HIV (PLWH) if ART is interrupted. The development of effective and safe immunotherapies and vaccines requires appropriate animal models as an essential tool for the cure of HIV. There are several available pre-clinical models that address essential concepts such as establishment, analysis, and reduction of viral reservoir; evaluation of immune cells population during the initial infection, during ART and post therapy interruption; contribution of immune cells to effective viral control and elimination of infected cells; evaluation of antibodies and antibody-based molecule for prevention and suppression of infection and elimination of infected cells; etc. Since there is no single perfect animal model that would address all important aspects of human infection with HIV, multiple animal models are utilized, including humanized mouse models, non-human primates, and in some cases Guinea pigs. Several preclinical studies demonstrated efficacy and potency of developed immunotherapies or vaccines in animal models; however, these studies were unsuccessful when advanced to clinical trials.
The transferability of the animals' results to humans is impacted by the limitation of each animal model, fundamental differences between animals and human population, and their immune responses. This Research Topic would like to address the development and optimization of tools for HIV research and describe comparative studies using animal models addressing their advances in the finding of effective HIV immunotherapies and cure.
The Guest Editors of this Research Topic welcome Original Research articles, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, Methods, and aim to assemble a collection of articles highlighting the research and development made on the following themes:
• Adaptive immune responses elicited by infection and vaccination
• Viral evaluation post latency disruption
• Adoptability and optimizing animal models to HIV research and cure strategies
• Immune-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of HIV
• Perinatal HIV research and vertical transmission
• Bioinformatic approaches to identify optimal antibody combination +/- LRA treatment
• Elaborative mechanism of viral interaction with human cells
The transferability of the animals' results to humans is impacted by the limitation of each animal model, fundamental differences between animals and human population, and their immune responses. This Research Topic would like to address the development and optimization of tools for HIV research and describe comparative studies using animal models addressing their advances in the finding of effective HIV immunotherapies and cure.
The Guest Editors of this Research Topic welcome Original Research articles, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, Methods, and aim to assemble a collection of articles highlighting the research and development made on the following themes:
• Adaptive immune responses elicited by infection and vaccination
• Viral evaluation post latency disruption
• Adoptability and optimizing animal models to HIV research and cure strategies
• Immune-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of HIV
• Perinatal HIV research and vertical transmission
• Bioinformatic approaches to identify optimal antibody combination +/- LRA treatment
• Elaborative mechanism of viral interaction with human cells
Keywords: HIV-1, animal models, antibodies, adaptive immunity, effector functions, pre-clinical studies, clinical trials
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
