Trainee:

Britta Jones

Research Mentor:

Dr. Kristina Abel, PhD

Clinical Co-mentor:

Dr. Jennifer Webster-Cyriaque, DDs, PhD

Despite much progress in our understanding of HIV-1, the virus causing AIDS, and the development of more effective antiretroviral therapies, we have not been able to successfully control the AIDS pandemic. The majority of HIV-1 transmissions occur through mucosal surfaces. Thus, a thorough understanding of virus-host interactions at mucosal entry sites is critical for the design of microbicides and vaccines aimed at preventing HIV-1 transmission. Furthermore, it has been documented that patients who appear to effectively control HIV-1 replication in the plasma after initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) can continue to shed virus in mucosal fluids.1 These data suggest that the identification of biomarkers of HIV-1 disease progression and/or HAART efficacy in mucosal fluids could be of potentially high diagnostic value. To better define the role of the oral mucosa in HIV-1 infection, we propose to pursue the following specific aims:

(1)  Identify the target cells of HIV-1 after oral HIV-1 exposure.

(2)  Define biomarkers of HIV-1 infection in saliva and gingival crevicular fluids.

(3)  Test whether biological mediators in oral mucosal fluids and blood samples can be used as prognostic markers of HIV-1 infection and HAART efficacy in HIV-1 infected patients.