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Volume 102, Issue 12, Pages 1176-1180 (December 2008)


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GB virus infection: a silent anti-HIV panacea within?

Esaki Muthu ShankarCorresponding Author Informationemail address, Sunil Suhas Solomon, Ramachandran Vignesh, Kailapuri G. Murugavel, Muthu Sundaram, Suniti Solomon, Pachamuthu Balakrishnan, Nagalingeswaran Kumarasamy

Received 6 March 2008; received in revised form 24 April 2008; accepted 24 April 2008.

Summary 

The GB virus (GBV)/hepatitis G virus is a member of the Flaviviridae family and belongs to the hepatitis group of viruses transmitted parenterally, common among intravenous drug users. The strong association between GBV and HIV infection suggests that the two viruses may share similar epidemiological and transmission features. GBV infection is widely believed to prolong HIV disease progression as well as decreasing the HIV viral load and increasing the CD4+ T-cell level. GBV-driven anti-E2 antibodies have been shown to inhibit HIV replication in vitro. Preliminary studies also suggest that GBV infection of peripheral blood mononuclear cells leads to increased production of β-chemokines, which may explain the in vitro inhibitory effects and warrants further studies. With sufficient knowledge of resistance patterns studied in tropical south India, researchers are now keen to study the competitive interactions between GBV-induced chemokines and HIV ligands to bind CCR5.

YRG Centre for AIDS Research and Education (YRG CARE), Voluntary Health Services Hospital Campus, IT Corridor, Taramani, Chennai 600 113, India

Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +91 44 2254 2929; fax: +91 44 2254 2939.

PII: S0035-9203(08)00205-8

doi:10.1016/j.trstmh.2008.04.034


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