Welcome to ShareTreck! I’m Raj, and in this First blog post of the series, we’re diving into a miniseries focused on HIV. Throughout the series, we’ll unravel the complexities of HIV, starting with the basics of the human immune system and progressing to advanced therapies. Here’s a breakdown of what to expect in the upcoming episodes. If you want to see the video version of this blogpost, please visit:
https://www.YouTube.com/@ShareTreckHIV
Episode Structure:
- Introduction to the Immune System: We’ll begin by exploring the fundamental components of the human immune system. From physical barriers like skin and mucous membranes to immune cells and molecules, we’ll lay the groundwork for understanding how our body defends against foreign invaders.
- Understanding HIV’s Challenge: Delving into why HIV can overcome the remarkable immune system, we’ll explore the mechanisms behind EBT 101, AGT 103-T, BNaB’s, and ASC22 with Chidamide.
- Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART): A closer look at ART, its role in managing HIV, and an examination of therapies and vaccines under development. We’ll analyze the strategies employed and discuss their potential merits.
- Functional Cure vs. Total Cure: Discussing the latest status of HIV therapies, we’ll explore the concept of functional cure and why complete eradication remains challenging. We’ll also touch upon ongoing efforts towards a total cure.
- How therapies work: We will examine how EBT 101, AGT 103-T, BNaB’s and ASC22 with Chidamide work. If any clinical test data is released at that time, interpretation of that will also be included.
Functional Cure and Challenges:
Currently, most effective cures for HIV fall into the functional cure category. This is due to the virus’s tendency to go dormant, making complete eradication challenging. With functional cures, the virus can rebound when the treatment is halted.
Innate and Acquired Immunity:
These are the foundational concepts you need to understand in order to appreciate HIV therapy approaches and clinical trial data.
Innate Immunity:
- Physical barriers like skin and mucous membranes.
- Immune cells (macrophages and neutrophils) and molecules (interferons and complement proteins) always present in the body.
- Immediate response against foreign invaders.
Acquired Immunity:
- Developed after exposure to a pathogen or vaccination.
- Involves activation of T cells and B cells, producing antibodies to neutralize the pathogen.
- Memory response for faster recognition upon subsequent exposure.
Importance of Vaccines:
Vaccines play a crucial role in training the acquired immune system without causing the disease. They stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies specific to a particular antigen, building resistance.
Conclusion:
Understanding the immune system’s intricacies, especially the CD4 T-Cell, is vital in comprehending the challenges posed by HIV. Stay tuned for weekly episodes where we’ll delve deeper into these concepts. Don’t forget to subscribe and hit the notify button so you don’t miss any updates.
That’s it for now. See you in the next video!
Sharetreck - Tracking Genomic Investments & clinical trials for HIV. 
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