Antibody maturation and viral diversification in HIV-infected women.

Introduction: The Post-exposure Prophylaxis in Infants (PEPI)-Malawi trial evaluated infant antiretroviral regimens for prevention of post-natal HIV transmission. A multi-assay algorithm (MAA) that includes the BED capture immunoassay, an avidity assay, CD4 cell count, and viral load was used to identify women who were vs. were not recently infected at the time of enrollment (MAA recent, N = 73; MAA non-recent, N = 2,488); a subset of the women in the MAA non-recent group known to have been HIV infected for at least 2 years before enrollment (known non-recent, N = 54).

Use of a high resolution melting assay to analyze HIV diversity in HIV-infected Ugandan children.

Background: We used a novel high resolution melting (HRM) diversity assay to analyze HIV diversity in Ugandan children (age 0.6-12.4 years) who were enrolled in an observational study of antiretroviral treatment (ART).

Association of recent HIV infection and in-utero HIV-1 transmission.

Objective: We previously developed a multiassay algorithm (MAA) to identify recent HIV infection that includes the BED-capture enzyme immunoassay, an avidity assay based on the Genetic Systems HIV-1/HIV-2 + O enzyme immunoassay, CD4 cell count, and HIV viral load. We used this MAA to evaluate the association between recent maternal HIV infection and in-utero transmission of HIV.

Methods: Plasma samples were collected at delivery from 2561 HIV-infected women in the postexposure prophylaxis of infants-Malawi trial.

Association of HIV diversity and survival in HIV-infected Ugandan infants.

Background: The level of viral diversity in an HIV-infected individual can change during the course of HIV infection, reflecting mutagenesis during viral replication and selection of viral variants by immune and other selective pressures. Differences in the level of viral diversity in HIV-infected infants may reflect differences in viral dynamics, immune responses, or other factors that may also influence HIV disease progression. We used a novel high resolution melting (HRM) assay to measure HIV diversity in Ugandan infants and examined the relationship between diversity and survival through 5 years of age.

Passive (amyloid-β) immunotherapy attenuates monoaminergic axonal degeneration in the AβPPswe/PS1dE9 mice.

The role of amyloid-β (Aβ in the neurodegeneration of Alzheimer's disease remains controversial, to a large extent because of the lack of robust neurodegeneration in mouse models of AD. To address this question, we examined the effects of Aβ antibodies in the recently described monoaminergic (MAergic) axonal degeneration in AβPPswe/PS1dE9 mice. To determine if Aβ accumulation is directly involved in degeneration of MAergic axons, we examined the effects of passive anti-Aβ antibody (7B6) administration on Aβ pathology and MAergic degeneration in AβPPswe/PS1dE9 mice.

Analysis of HIV diversity using a high-resolution melting assay.

HIV viruses are usually genetically homogeneous shortly after infection, and become more heterogeneous over time. We developed a high-resolution melting (HRM) assay to analyze HIV diversity without sequencing. Plasma samples from the HIVNET 012 trial were obtained from nine Ugandan mother-infant pairs.