IRP scientists illuminate mechanism of increased cardiovascular risks with HIV
Tick saliva molecule blocks process in human cells, nonhuman primates.
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have expanded the understanding of how chronic inflammation and persistent immune activation associated with HIV infection drive cardiovascular disease risk in people living with HIV. People living with HIV are up to twice as likely to experience heart attacks, strokes and other forms of cardiovascular disease as people who do not have the virus, even when HIV infection is well-controlled with the use of antiretroviral therapy.
The scientists found that certain immune cells proliferate in people living with HIV, expressing proteins and triggering inflammation and abnormal blood clotting. These processes can be blocked in cells and in nonhuman primate models with an experimental drug.
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