Victor Garcia’s lab addresses the longstanding problem of HIV persistence in a new PLOS Pathogens paper that takes advantage of their bone marrow/liver/thymus (BLT) humanized mouse system. They combine antiretroviral therapy with an immunotoxin designed to target the conserved CD4 binding site of HIV-1 gp120, and they show a dramatic reduction in persistent virus throughout the body. See the article at the link below.
UNC News article: http://tinyurl.com/pgd82mu
International media coverage: http://www.plospathogens.org/article/related/info:doi/10.1371/journal.ppat.1003872
http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1003872#ack