Projects
HIV Nanoheroes: novel CRISPR/Cas9-based CD4+ cell-specific HHV-7 vectors to cure HIV Ghent University
Nearly 38 million people globally are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS by replicating in CD4+ immune cells. Current therapies can inhibit the virus from multiplying, but cannot eliminate viral DNA copies integrated in the genome of CD4+ long-living cells (viral reservoir). Genetic therapy would be a sophisticated way to treat HIV, but conventional vectors are still unable to target the HIV reservoir. Here, we aim to design ...
The impact of LEDGIN-mediated retargeting of HIV integration on reactivation of latent HIV KU Leuven
Even after decades of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), a cure for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) through complete eradication of the virus remains an elusive goal. Viremia rebounds quickly if cART is interrupted. This is because HIV is a lentivirus that uses the viral proteins reverse transcriptase and integrase to stably integrate a provirus into the host cell genome, which leads to the existence of a latent HIV ...
Combining phylodynamics and agent-based HIV transmission modelling to advance epidemiological methodology and evidencebased public health policies for HIV prevention and treatment Hasselt University
Towards a functional cure strategy of HIV infection: Single virus imaging to study the impact of HIV nuclear import and integration on transcription and latency KU Leuven
The Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is the causative agent of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Nowadays, HIV patients are treated with combination antiretroviral therapy which reduces the viral load but does not cure HIV infection. The persistence of integrated viral DNA in a transcriptionally silent mode is a major barrier to cure HIV infection. However, multiple strategies for an HIV cure are being developed. My ...
Towards the clinical application of total HIV DNA: a valuable marker for the diagnosis of HIV-infected infants and treatment follow-up in HIV adults. Ghent University
We hypothesize HIV DNA as a valuable predictive and prognostic marker in clinical care of patients and as a sensitive marker for the early diagnosis of HIV-infected infants. A validated HIV DNA assay is needed that quantifies efficiently HIV DNA from various HIV subtypes , followed by the validation of the clinical relevance of total HIV DNA as a biomarker.
Data-driven modelling of the impact of early, wide-scale HIV treatment on HIV incidence in Southern Africa Hasselt University
ASP-L, An antisense HIV RNA transcript that acts in HIV latency Ghent University
The introduction of antiretroviral therapy directed against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) resulted in a asuppression of disease progression, effectively limiting the incidence of infected patients developing the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This led to a major decrease in AIDS related mortality. However, current therapies are still unable to cure HIV infected patients, since a small reservoir of replication competent ...