{"title":"HIV and aging research: good news/bad news.","authors":"Heidi M Crane","doi":"10.1097/COH.0000000000001060","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/COH.0000000000001060","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":93966,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in HIV and AIDS","volume":"21 5","pages":"345-346"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148680672","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thomas A Angelovich, Kathleen Busman-Sahay, Janna Jamal Eddine, Melissa J Churchill, Afam A Okoye, Jacob D Estes
{"title":"New horizons in HIV neuropathogenesis: thinking beyond the brain.","authors":"Thomas A Angelovich, Kathleen Busman-Sahay, Janna Jamal Eddine, Melissa J Churchill, Afam A Okoye, Jacob D Estes","doi":"10.1097/COH.0000000000001052","DOIUrl":"10.1097/COH.0000000000001052","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose of review: </strong>Neurocognitive disorders and neuropathology continue to affect a subset of people with HIV (PWH) despite long-term viral suppression with antiretroviral therapy (ART). The mechanisms driving persistent neuropathology remain incompletely defined, and current therapeutic options are largely nonspecific and patient-dependent. This review analyses emerging evidence on HIV-associated neuropathology in ART-suppressed PWH, with a particular focus on the role of the gut-brain axis.</p><p><strong>Recent findings: </strong>Recent studies demonstrate that the CNS is a stable and transcriptionally active tissue reservoir, which may sustain chronic microglial activation, pro-inflammatory signalling, and synaptic injury. In parallel, accumulating evidence implicates systemic inflammation and gut barrier dysfunction as key contributors to neuroinflammation, linking microbial translocation and gut-brain axis perturbations to cognitive decline in PWH. Furthermore, persistent gut inflammation may result in enteric nervous system (ENS) dysfunction and aberrant signals that directly results in neuroinflammation and neuropathology. These mechanistic insights have driven evaluation of adjunctive strategies targeting HIV transcription and inflammatory pathways as potential approaches to limit neuropathogenesis.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>Neuropathology in ART-suppressed PWH arises from convergent processes involving CNS HIV reservoirs, myeloid-driven neuroinflammation, systemic immune activation and gut-derived injury, rather than residual brain infection alone. Defining the relative contribution of these pathways in PWH and developing CNS-penetrant interventions that silence viral transcription, restore gut integrity and dampen systemic inflammation, will be critical to preventing and treating HIV-associated neuropathology.</p>","PeriodicalId":93966,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in HIV and AIDS","volume":" ","pages":"364-371"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148474853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists in the aging population of people with HIV: emerging evidence and clinical implications.","authors":"Lara Haidar, Joseph A C Delaney","doi":"10.1097/COH.0000000000001059","DOIUrl":"10.1097/COH.0000000000001059","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose of review: </strong>The increasing use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) for type 2 diabetes and obesity has generated interest in their potential role among people with HIV (PWH), who experience a high burden of cardiometabolic disease and aging-related comorbidities. This review summarizes emerging evidence on the efficacy, safety, and implementation considerations of GLP-1RAs in PWH.</p><p><strong>Recent findings: </strong>GLP-1RAs, such as semaglutide, are associated with meaningful reductions in bodyweight, glycemia, and both visceral and hepatic fat in PWH. Emerging data suggest potential effects on behavioral outcomes such as alcohol use and smoking, although evidence in PWH remains limited. Concerns regarding lean mass loss, frailty, and bone health exist but current data are limited and generally reassuring, with functional outcomes largely preserved. HIV-specific studies have largely used lower doses of semaglutide, and evidence in older populations remains sparse.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>GLP-1RAs are a promising option for cardiometabolic risk reduction in PWH, with important considerations around tolerability and body composition, particularly in aging and multimorbid populations. Future research should prioritize trials assessing cardiovascular, neuropsychiatric, and substance use outcomes, alongside studies of real-world effectiveness and implementation in routine clinical care. In addition, identifying subgroups most likely to benefit will be important.</p>","PeriodicalId":93966,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in HIV and AIDS","volume":" ","pages":"355-361"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148474848","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Lenacapavir: a first-in-class HIV-1 capsid inhibitor: Erratum.","authors":"","doi":"10.1097/COH.0000000000001050","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/COH.0000000000001050","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":93966,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in HIV and AIDS","volume":"21 5","pages":"401"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148681036","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ali Ahmed, Whitney Tran, Samuel Ndukwe, Zachary Sloane, Cecilia Costiniuk, Karine Dubé
{"title":"Ethical frameworks and community engagement in HIV cure-related research at the end of life: looking back, moving forward.","authors":"Ali Ahmed, Whitney Tran, Samuel Ndukwe, Zachary Sloane, Cecilia Costiniuk, Karine Dubé","doi":"10.1097/COH.0000000000001066","DOIUrl":"10.1097/COH.0000000000001066","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose of review: </strong>HIV cure-related research at the end-of-life has created a rare opportunity to study viral persistence in tissues that cannot be safely or repeatedly sampled during life. This review examines ethical frameworks and community engagement approaches in this field from 2016 to 2026, with attention to potential new scientific directions and implementation across diverse settings.</p><p><strong>Recent findings: </strong>The literature has developed important recommendations on informed consent, autonomy, dignity, altruism, patient-participant-centeredness, next-of-kin/loved one involvement, staff coordination, rapid research autopsy, and tissue stewardship. Much of this work has emerged from the Last Gift program and related studies in the United States, with growing documented evidence from Canada and emerging biospecimen infrastructure work in Brazil. As the field expands toward novel approaches, such as organoids, organ-on-chip systems, ex vivo models, and possible in vivo testing of HIV cure-related research strategies, ethical questions increasingly extend to tissue transformation, future use, commercialization, acceptable risk, oversight, and long-term governance.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>HIV cure-related research at the end-of-life has been ethically deliberate from the outset. The next task is to define the practices, safeguards, and engagement processes needed to conduct this work responsibly across more diverse cultural, legal, clinical, and community settings as scientific innovations evolve.</p>","PeriodicalId":93966,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in HIV and AIDS","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13587775/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148835691","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Virological biomarkers of HIV remission in children: implications for pediatric cure strategies.","authors":"Kavidha Reddy, Thumbi Ndung'u","doi":"10.1097/COH.0000000000001032","DOIUrl":"10.1097/COH.0000000000001032","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose of review: </strong>Sustained antiretroviral therapy (ART)-free HIV remission has been observed in a few early-treated children, highlighting the potential for pediatric HIV cure strategies. However, the risks associated with analytical treatment interruption (ATI) underscore the need for reliable virological biomarkers that can identify participants for ATI studies, predict viral rebound or remission and guide clinical decision-making. This review summarizes evidence on virological biomarkers of HIV remission with relevance to pediatric populations.</p><p><strong>Recent findings: </strong>Advances in reservoir measurement have revealed that early ART initiation in children restricts reservoir size and alters reservoir quality. Total and intact HIV DNA, cell-associated HIV RNA, residual plasma viremia measured by ultrasensitive assays, and viral genetic and clonal features each capture aspects of HIV persistence and show associations with time to viral rebound. Markers of residual viral activity, including cell-associated HIV RNA, ultrasensitive plasma HIV RNA, and p24 antigen, may be predictors of rebound timing in early-treated cohorts.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>Current evidence supports integrated, multi-dimensional virological biomarker strategies rather than reliance on single assays to predict pediatric HIV remission. Harmonization, validation in longitudinal pediatric cohorts, ethical feasibility and further research will be critical to identifying and translating these biomarkers for pediatric cure trials.</p>","PeriodicalId":93966,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in HIV and AIDS","volume":" ","pages":"328-336"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147505296","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nonhuman primate models of HIV reveal reservoir dynamics and promising interventions.","authors":"Brandon F Keele","doi":"10.1097/COH.0000000000001042","DOIUrl":"10.1097/COH.0000000000001042","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose of review: </strong>HIV cure research seeks to eradicate the virus from people with HIV (PWH) or provide posttreatment control (PTC) of virus sufficient to block new transmissions and provide better health outcomes. Nonhuman primate (NHP) models of HIV have proven instrumental to our understanding HIV infection. This review highlights the remarkable contributions of NHPs in both corroborating data from PWH and expanding our understanding beyond what is possible in a clinical setting by utilizing novel virus models, immune activating therapies, and direct in vivo intervention to clear the viral reservoir.</p><p><strong>Recent finding: </strong>The benefits of NHP models for HIV cure research encompasses both basic research and a platform to test novel preclinical therapeutic interventions. Recent findings have improved our basic understanding of how and when the HIV reservoir is established, the mechanisms of how it is maintained, and the dynamics and origins of off-ART rebound. Further, NHP studies have allowed the testing of various intervention strategies, for both PTC and reservoir reduction, including interventions that can and are being tested in PWH as well as models that cannot be used in humans, but can provide mechanistic insights into reservoir dynamics that can help develop future clinical interventions.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>NHP research has proven highly useful in all aspects of HIV disease. The exciting new virus models and intervention approaches described here have and will continue to meaningfully contribute to the goal of HIV cure.</p>","PeriodicalId":93966,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in HIV and AIDS","volume":" ","pages":"302-308"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147950459","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Haocong Katherine Ma, Hyein Back, Yulong Wei, Ya-Chi Ho
{"title":"BACH2 effector-to-memory switch promotes HIV persistence and CAR-T efficacy.","authors":"Haocong Katherine Ma, Hyein Back, Yulong Wei, Ya-Chi Ho","doi":"10.1097/COH.0000000000001041","DOIUrl":"10.1097/COH.0000000000001041","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose of review: </strong>HIV integration into BACH2 is significantly enriched in people living with HIV (PLWH), but not in vitro . Specifically, HIV integration sites are enriched in the same orientation and upstream of BACH2 translation. HIV drives high levels of BACH2 expression through HIV-to- BACH2 splicing. BACH2, a transcription repressor that competes with AP-1 binding, is an effector-to-memory switch that restrains effector function, drives T cell stemness, and promotes long-lived memory.</p><p><strong>Recent findings: </strong>Retroviral infection mouse model containing retroviral splice sites recapitulated the orientation- and site-dependent enrichment of integration into BACH2 , revealing in-vivo selection pressure favoring BACH2 expression. Two back-to-back BACH2 studies revealed that BACH2 promotes HIV persistence. High BACH2 activity in the gut tissue resident memory CD4 + T cells (T RM ) drives long-lived persistence of HIV-infected cells in the gut, while high BACH2 activity in the gut HIV-specific CD8 + T RM restrains effector function. Higher BACH2 activity in tissues than blood drives distinct mechanisms of HIV persistence in the gut versus blood. Finally, three back-to-back BACH2 studies revealed how druggable finetuning of BACH2 promotes chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell persistence and efficacy.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>BACH2 promotes the persistence of both HIV and CAR-T cells by driving T cell stemness and long-lived memory.</p>","PeriodicalId":93966,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in HIV and AIDS","volume":" ","pages":"279-286"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147936423","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Natural killer cells in pediatric HIV cure strategies: from viral control to immunotherapeutics.","authors":"Nicola Cotugno, Lesley de Armas, Paolo Palma","doi":"10.1097/COH.0000000000001034","DOIUrl":"10.1097/COH.0000000000001034","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose of review: </strong>Perinatal HIV infection occurs during a critical window of immune development, in a predominantly naïve immune system, resulting in distinct and unique virologic and immunologic outcomes compared with adult-acquired infection. Innate immunity and specifically natural killer (NK) cells play a role in early viral control and critically shape both size and composition of the HIV reservoir established in infancy. This review examines how NK cell function during acute infection and treatment interruption may contribute to virological outcomes.</p><p><strong>Recent findings: </strong>Emerging data show that NK cell phenotypic and functional diversity associates with reservoir size and persistence. Immune-genetic factors, including HLA and KIR interactions and sex-specific differences, can significantly modulate NK-mediated HIV control. Studies also highlight how perinatal HIV exposure and co-infections alter innate immune networks involving monocytes and CD8 T cells, further influencing reservoir dynamics.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>Insights into pediatric NK cell immunity reveal unique mechanisms of early HIV control and reservoir shaping that differ from adults. Understanding how NK cell function influences virological outcomes during acute infection and analytic treatment interruption (ATI) provides a critical foundation for designing cure strategies tailored to children. These include leveraging antibody-based interventions and emerging NK-directed immunotherapies to enhance reservoir clearance and support safer, more effective ATI-informed cure approaches.</p>","PeriodicalId":93966,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in HIV and AIDS","volume":" ","pages":"312-319"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13258098/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147950437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Paediatric HIV cure section in Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS.","authors":"Philip J R Goulder, Carlo Giaquinto, Paolo Rossi","doi":"10.1097/COH.0000000000001043","DOIUrl":"10.1097/COH.0000000000001043","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":93966,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in HIV and AIDS","volume":"21 4","pages":"309-311"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148159757","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}