Innate immunity plays a critical role as an initial barrier to infection. In addition, innate immunity can serve to shape and regulate adaptive immune responses. Therefore, investigating the integration of innate and ...

Elicitation of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) remains a major goal in the generation of a successful vaccine against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). One of the major obstacles in generating such NAbs is the ...

The distribution of lentiviruses among primates reflects a history of interspecies transmission and emergence of new virus-host relationships. The degree to which viruses must adapt to the genetic environment of new host ...

Primate lentiviruses (PLVs), including human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), HIV type 2 (HIV-2), and the simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs), cause persistent lifelong infections despite the presence of virus-specific ...

CD8+ T cells are a crucial component of the adaptive immune system and are required for optimal protection from most pathogens and cancer. They function by secreting pro-inflammatory cytokines and by directly eliminating ...

In order to counter pathogen infection while preventing autoimmune responses, the human innate immune system must be precisely regulated to distinguish “self” from “non-self”. Pattern recognition receptors detect “non-self” ...

The brain has a tightly regulated environment that protects non-regenerating post-mitotic neurons and limits inflammation, which led to its description as a site of ‘immune privilege’. For example, viral and bacterial ...

Approximately 8% of the human genome comprises endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), remnants of ancient germline infections. ERVs represent the best “molecular fossils” of viral infection of the host or its ancestor. Knowledge ...

Viral fusion proteins (VFPs) are membrane-anchored machines that coat the surfaces of enveloped viruses and induce the fusion of virus and cell membranes. While enveloped viruses are evolutionarily diverse, their fusion ...

Cutaneous beta-papillomaviruses are associated with non-melanoma skin cancers that arise in patients who suffer from a rare genetic disorder, Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis or after immunosuppression following organ ...