22 JANUARY 2021 VOLUME 23 ISSUE 3

Media Coverage

• 'Raw Is Law' - How Anal Sex Without Condoms Is Going Mainstream

  When Cameron moved to the UK from the Philippines in 2016, he couldn't believe how openly MSM (men who have sex with men) spoke about barebacking. When he opened Grindr, he saw profiles with the bio "bb only": common shorthand for solely wanting "bareback", or condomless anal sex. Other profiles specified a preference for "raw" fucking – another synonym for condomless anal – or used the word "breeding" as a euphemism for "taking a load."

  January 22, 2021

  Male and Female Condoms, PrEP

  VICE

• Here’s How a Leading HIV Advocate Responds to COVID-19 Vaccine Mistrust

  At the moment that this article was published, four hundred two thousand eight hundred three people in the United States have been confirmed to have died of complications from COVID-19. That is 402,803 people who died horrific deaths, often alone and disorientated.

  January 22, 2021

  General

  The BodyPro

• Huge Fall in New HIV Infections After Roll-Out of PrEP in Scotland

  New HIV diagnoses in gay and bisexual men fell by 20 percent after the implementation of a publicly funded PrEP programme in Scotland, while HIV incidence in a large cohort of men attending sexual health clinics fell by 43 percent, Professor Claudia Estcourt of Glasgow Caledonian University and colleagues report in AIDS.

  January 21, 2021

  PrEP

  aidsmap

• FDA Approves 1st Long-Acting HIV Drug Combo, Monthly Shots

  Thursday’s approval of the two-shot combo called Cabenuva is expected to make it easier for people to stay on track with their HIV medicines and to do so with more privacy. It’s a huge change from not long ago, when patients had to take multiple pills several times a day, carefully timed around meals.

  January 21, 2021

  Treatment

  US News & World Report

• We Found A COVID-19 Vaccine In Months. What About One For HIV?

  When Pfizer and BioNTech announced their astounding SARS-CoV-2 vaccine efficacy results in November, Arthur Reed was ecstatic. “The global investment and coordination of billions of dollars enabling this unprecedented pace of scientific discovery is truly an incredible achievement,” he said.

  January 20, 2021

  HIV Vaccine

  HuffPost

• Centering the HIV Response on Adolescent Girls Key to Meeting Targets in Africa

  Last year, UNAIDS proposed a new set of bold HIV targets for 2025 in order to get the HIV response back on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030. Currently, new HIV infections continue in certain regions and among key populations. In sub-Saharan Africa, nearly 1 in 4 new infections are among adolescent girls and young women aged 15–24 years old, who make-up only 10 percent of the population.

  January 20, 2021

  General

  Devex

• Four Goals of the Updated National HIV Plan to End the Epidemic

  On January 15, the federal government released the HIV National Strategic Plan for the United States: A Roadmap to End the Epidemic 2021–2025. As the name suggests, the plan sets targets and lays out strategies for ending HIV and reducing HIV-related disparities.

  January 20, 2021

  General

  POZ

• Biden Actually Has a House and Senate Majority. So What Should We Push For?

  The stakes are high, to say the least—and advocates know it. “We have the opportunity to make substantial gains toward ending the AIDS epidemic and advancing social, economic, and racial justice in this country,” says Charles King, the longtime head of the New York City HIV services and advocacy agency Housing Works.

  January 19, 2021

  General

  The Body

• Can mRNA Technology Help Scientists Find HIV Vaccine?

  Scientists would likely look into the potential of mRNA technology as the search for an HIV vaccine continues. This technology has become a game-changer helping scientist’s find a vaccine against the coronavirus.

  January 15, 2021

  HIV Vaccine

  Africa News

• Opinion: We Still Don’t Have An HIV Vaccine. That’s Why You Should Get One For COVID-19

  The first time I had sex with another man, I was 17 years old, and the year was 1987. HIV was killing gay men en masse — as well as trans women, cis Black women, people injecting drugs, and others — and there was no effective treatment, let alone a “warp speed” effort by the government to fight the spread of the virus with a vaccine. It was a terrifying time to come of age as a gay man.

  January 15, 2021

  General

  BuzzFeed News

Published Research

• Generation of HIV-Resistant Cells With a Single-Domain Antibody: Implications for HIV-1 Gene Therapy

  We showed that GPI-m36.4-modified human CEMss-CCR5 cells were nonpermissive to both CCR5- and CXCR4-tropic HIV-1 isolates and displayed a strong survival advantage over unmodified cells. It was found that GPI-m36.4 could also impair HIV-1 Env processing and viral infectivity in transduced cells, underlying a multifaceted mechanism of antiviral action. In conclusion, our studies characterize m36.4 as a powerful nanobody that can generate HIV-resistant cells, offering a novel gene therapy approach that can be used alone or in combination.

  January 22, 2021

  Cure

  Cellular & Molecular Immunology

• Dendronized Gold Nanoparticles as Carriers for gp160 (HIV-1) Peptides: Biophysical Insight into Complex Formation

  It has been shown that HIV peptides interacted with nanoparticles as evident from the changes in their secondary structures, restricted the mobility of the attached fluorescence dye, and enhanced peptide helicity confirmed by the fluorescence polarization and circular dichroism results. Transmission electron microscopy visualized complexes as cloud-like structures with attached nanoparticles. AuNP 13-15 nanoparticles bind negatively charged peptides depending on the number of functional groups; the fastest saturation and peptide retardation were observed for the most dendronized nanoparticle as indicated from dynamic light scattering, laser Doppler velocimetry, and agarose gel electrophoresis experiments. Dendronized gold nanoparticles can be considered one of the potential HIV peptide-based vaccination platforms.

  January 21, 2021

  HIV Vaccine

  Langmuir

• Modeling Cash Plus Other Psychosocial and Structural Interventions to Prevent HIV Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women in South Africa (HPTN 068)

  Providing the South African Child Support Grant (CSG) combined with increasing caregiver care and reducing adolescent depression had the largest reduction in HIV incidence with the fewest number of combined interventions. Combining a monthly grant with interventions to increase caregiver care and reduce adolescent depression could substantially reduce HIV incidence above the provision of cash alone.

  January 21, 2021

  General

  AIDS and Behavior

• Health Care Coverage and Preexposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Use Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Living in 22 US Cities With Medicaid Expansion, 2017

  Medicaid expansion is associated with higher coverage and care, including PrEP.

  January 21, 2021

  PrEP

  AJPH

• Describing, Analysing and Understanding the Effects of the Introduction of HIV Self-Testing in West Africa Through the ATLAS Programme in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Senegal

  ATLAS is the first comprehensive study on HIV self-testing in West Africa. The ATLAS programme focuses particularly on the secondary distribution of HIVST. This protocol was approved by three national ethic committees and the WHO’s Ethical Research Committee.

  January 21, 2021

  General

  BMC Public Health

• Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission among Pregnant Women in a City with the Highest Rates of HIV in Brazil

  MTCT rate was 2.18 percent. With the institution of two-drug prophylaxis for high-risk newborns, persistent cases HIV MTCT were predominantly found among women with absence of antenatal care, late HIV diagnosis, syphilis coinfection, high viral load, and inadequate ARV therapy during pregnancy. Although zidovudine and nevirapine were administered postnatally to high-risk newborns, this regimen could not prevent transplacental transmission.

  January 21, 2021

  Treatment

  Am J Perinatol

• Awareness of and Attitudes Toward Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Among Predominantly Heterosexual Black Adolescents and Young Adults and Their Guardians in an Urban Area With HIV Epidemic in the United States

  Among 185 Black, cis-gender, predominantly heterosexual adolescents and young adults (AYA) and 35 guardians surveyed in Washington, DC, the majority of AYA (96.8 percent) and guardians (94.3 percent) were unaware of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP); 62.2 percent of AYA were uncertain if PrEP was safe or effective against HIV. Of 41.6 percent of AYA willing to use PrEP, 24.9 percent reported concern about PrEP-related social stigma.

  January 21, 2021

  PrEP

  Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal

• Polyfunctional Tier 2–Neutralizing Antibodies Cloned following HIV-1 Env Macaque Immunization Mirror Native Antibodies in a Human Donor

  Overall, this study underscores the polyfunctional nature of vaccine-elicited tier 2-neutralizing V3 Abs and demonstrates partial reproduction of the human donor's humoral immune response through nonhuman primate vaccination.

  January 20, 2021

  Antibody Related Research

  Journal of Immunology

• Shortening “the Road” to Improve Engagement with HIV Testing Resources: A Qualitative Study Among Stakeholders in Rural Uganda

  This work describes a novel approach to "shorten the road" to HIV testing, suggesting that traditional healer-delivered HIV testing holds promise to expand uptake of testing among communities with limited access to existing programs.

  January 20, 2021

  General

  AIDS Patient Care and STDs

• Barriers to Using HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and Sexual Behaviour After Stopping PrEP: A Cross-Sectional Study in Germany

  To maximise persistence with PrEP we need to develop strategies for younger PrEP users, reduce logistic barriers to access PrEP, and to develop effective communication on side-effect management. Moreover, prevention strategies for people stopping PrEP are required, since some remain at high risk for HIV.

  January 19, 2021

  Male and Female Condoms, PrEP

  BMC Public Health

• “I Wish To Remain HIV Negative”: Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Adherence and Persistence in Transgender Women and Men Who Have Sex With Men in Coastal Kenya

  While MSM evinced greater adherence challenges in this PrEP programme, almost 40 percent of TGW were protected by PrEP. Given high HIV incidences in TGW these findings hold promise for TGW PrEP programming in the region.

  January 19, 2021

  PrEP

  PLOS One

• Antibody-Mediated Depletion of Viral Reservoirs Is Limited in SIV-Infected Macaques Treated Early With Antiretroviral Therapy

  To examine antibody-mediated viral reservoir targeting without a need for viral induction, we used an anti-CD4 mAb to deplete both infected and uninfected CD4+ T cells. Ten rhesus macaques infected with barcoded SIVmac239M received cART for 93 weeks starting 4 days post-infection. During cART, five animals received 5-6 anti-CD4 antibody administrations and CD4+ T cell populations were then allowed one year on cART to recover. Despite profound CD4+ T cell depletion in blood and lymph nodes, time to viral rebound following cART cessation was not significantly delayed in anti-CD4 treated animals compared with controls. Viral reactivation rates, determined based on rebounding SIVmac239M clonotype proportions, also were not significantly different in CD4 depleted animals. Notably, antibody-mediated depletion was limited in rectal tissue and negligible in lymphoid follicles. These results suggest that even if robust viral reactivation can be achieved, antibody-mediated viral reservoir depletion may be limited in key tissue sites.

  January 19, 2021

  Antibody Related Research

  Journal of Clinical Investigation

• Resveratrol Promotes HIV-1 Tat Accumulation via AKT/FOXO1 Signaling Axis and Potentiates Vorinostat to antagonize HIV-1 latency

  We found a new mechanism of resveratrol stimulating the production of HIV-1. Resveratrol could be a promising candidate drug to eradicate HIV-1 reservoirs.

  January 18, 2021

  Cure, Treatment

  Current HIV Research

• Vaccination Induces Maturation in a Mouse Model of Diverse Unmutated VRC01-Class Precursors to HIV-Neutralizing Antibodies With >50 Percent Breadth

  Here, using sequential immunization of immunoglobulin (Ig)-humanized mice expressing diverse unmutated VRC01-class antibody precursors, we elicited serum responses capable of neutralizing viruses bearing glycan276 and isolated multiple lineages of VRC01-class bnAbs, including two with >50 percent breadth on a 208-strain panel. Crystal structures of representative bnAbs revealed the same mode of recognition as known VRC01-class bnAbs. Structure-function studies further pinpointed key mutations and correlated their induction with specific immunizations.

  January 15, 2021

  Antibody Related Research, HIV Vaccine

  Immunity

• Financial Incentives and Real-Time Adherence Monitoring To Promote Daily Adherence to HIV Treatment and Viral Suppression Among People Living With HIV: A Pilot Study

  Daily financial incentives coupled with real-time adherence monitoring is a promising strategy to support ART adherence among HIV-positive individuals who are not virally suppressed. This novel approach warrants testing in a larger trial.

  January 15, 2021

  Treatment

  JAIDS

• Ambivalence and the Biopolitics of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Implementation

  Emphasizing how scientists and health practitioners may feel conflicted about the biopolitics of novel biomedical technologies opens up opportunities to consider how a scientific field is or is not adequately advancing issues of equity. Scientists ignoring their ambivalence over the state of their research field may be deemed necessary to achieve a specific implementation goal, but this emotion management work can lead to alienation.

  January 14, 2021

  PrEP

  Social Theory & Health

• Population-Level Effectiveness of a National HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Programme in Men Who Have Sex With Men

  We demonstrate national population-level impact of PrEP for the first time in a real-world setting. HIV incidence reduced in MSM who had been prescribed PrEP and, to a lesser extent, in those who had not. Promotion of the benefits of PrEP needs to extend to MSM who do not access sexual health clinics.

  January 11, 2021

  PrEP

  AIDS

Announcements