Browsing by Author "Burgers, WA"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Increased differentiation associates with decreased polyfunctionality for HIV but not CMV-specific CD8+ T cell responses
    (BioMed Central Ltd, 2012) Riou, C; Abrahams, M; Mlisana, K; Koup, R; Roederer, M; Karim, S; de Bruyn, G; Williamson, C; Gray, CM; Burgers, WA
    The generation of polyfunctional CD8+ T cells, in response to vaccination or natural infection, has been associated with improved protective immunity. However, it remains unclear whether the maintenance of polyfunctionality is linked to particular phenotypic characteristics of the cell, such as the differentiation stage of memory T cells. The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between the memory maturation stage and polyfunctional profiles of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells.
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    Inflammation in the male genital tract: implications for HIV acquisition and transmission
    (BioMed Central Ltd, 2012) Olivier, Abraham Jacobus; Roberts, L; Coetzee, D; Williamson, A; Passmore, JS; Burgers, WA
    Elevated plasma levels of pro-inflammatory mediators such as TNFα, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8, MIP-1α, MIP-1β and RANTES have been demonstrated in HIV-infected individuals and HIV induces higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the female genital tract. We characterized levels of inflammation in semen, to gain an understanding of factors influencing transmission and acquisition in the male genital tract. Our hypothesis was that infected men would exhibit higher levels of inflammation in semen than uninfected men.
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    Infrequent, low magnitude HIV-specific T cell responses in HIV-uninfected participants in the 1% tenofovir microbicide gel trial (CAPRISA004)
    (BioMed Central Ltd, 2012) Burgers, WA; Muller, TL; Kiravu, A; Naranbhai, V; Sibeko, S; Werner, L; Karim, Q; Karim, SS
    Macaque studies of antiretroviral-containing microbicide gels administered rectally or vaginally followed by SIV challenge have documented priming of SIV-specific T cell responses in the blood of protected animals. This concept has been termed “chemo-vaccination”, where aborted viral replication is thought to leave an immune footprint of exposure, which may augment protection provided by microbicides/PrEP. We investigated whether T cell responses were detectable in women participating in CAPRISA004 1% tenofovir microbicide trial, which showed 39% efficacy in reducing HIV acquisition.
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    Refined identification of neutralization-resistant CRF02_AG viruses and their sensitivity to anti-MPER neutralizing antibodies
    (BioMed Central Ltd, 2012) Jacob, RA; Abrahams, F; Tongo, M; Schomaker, M; Roux, P; Ngole, E; Burgers, WA; Dorfman, JR
    The first antibody-inducing HIV-1 vaccines are unlikely to protect against all HIV-1 isolates. There is thus a danger that a vaccine will select for HIV-1 viruses that are highly resistant to antibody-mediated neutralization. We sought to identify and characterize such viruses.