Interleukin 21 (IL-21)/microRNA-29 (miR-29) axis is associated with natural resistance to HIV-1 infection.

Background: Interleukin-21 (IL-21) modulates HIV-1 infection through the elicitation of different antiviral mechanisms, including Th17 lineage commitment and induction of microRNA (miR)-29, a miRNA endowed with anti-HIV activity. As miR-29 expression is significantly increased in HIV-1-exposed seronegative individuals (HESN), we investigated the role of miR-29/IL21 axis in the natural control of HIV-1 infection.

Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from 15 Italian sexually exposed HESN and 15 HIV-unexposed healthy controls were in-vitro infected with an R5-tropic HIV-1Ba-L strain.

Early clinical response and presence of viral resistant minority variants: a proof of concept study.

Introduction: Traditional genotyping assays detect viral variants present in at least 15-25% of the entire virus population. We tested the Next generation GS Junior System (NGS) setted with a detection limit of 0.05% and evaluated the clinical relevance of low prevalent mutations.