On Tuesday 3 September at 14.00, Kathrine Kjær defends her PhD dissertation entitled "The HIV-1 Reservoir: Exploring Proviral Persistence and Transcription Dynamics".

A new PhD dissertation from Aarhus University, Health, sheds light on the challenges of combating HIV-1, which remains a chronic infection despite lifelong treatment with antiretroviral therapy. The key obstacle to curing HIV-1 is a reservoir of latent, infected cells that evade detection by the immune system. The research project, conducted by Kathrine Kjær, investigates the efficacy of the drug romidepsin in reactivating latent viruses so they can be detected and destroyed by the immune system, as well as the role of monocytes in sustaining viral persistence.

The project has developed new tests based on digital droplet PCR technology to assess the activation of individual latent viruses. These tests revealed the extent of activation of individual proviruses by romidepsin and provided a detailed understanding of the overall viral activation. Additionally, digital droplet PCR was employed to evaluate the stability of the HIV-1 reservoir in monocytes and CD4+ T cells over time.

The results of the research project demonstrate that romidepsin only activates a small fraction of latent viruses, which explains its limited success in clinical trials. Although CD4+ T cells remain the main reservoir, other cells such as monocytes may also contribute to the persistence of HIV-1 infection. This research offers valuable insights into the complexities of eradicating HIV-1.

The summary is written by the PhD student. 

The defence is public and takes place in CET in Apollonia (1612-018E), Aarhus University, Vennelyst Boulevard. Please see the press release for more information. 

Contact

PhD student Kathrine Kjær
Mail: kkjaer@clin.au.dk 

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