Inhibition of HIV Infection through Chemoprophylaxis Using Emtricitabine and Tenofovir

The invention is directed to prophylactic administration of emtricitabine (FTC) in combination with tenofovir or its prodrug, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), to protect against transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Also disclosed are other nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) and nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NtRTIs) that, when administered in combination, protect against HIV infection.

Nanobody–Antiviral Peptide Conjugates for Potent HIV Entry Inhibition

This technology includes a new class of nanobody–antiviral peptide conjugates that block HIV from infecting human CD4⁺ T-cells, positioning them for future therapeutic and prophylactic use. Nanobodies—single-domain antibody fragments—guide the drug to the virus’s docking site and impede receptor binding, while the linked peptide halts the membrane-fusion step, creating a one-two punch against viral entry.

EV-D68 Monoclonal Antibodies Isolated from Immunized Rhesus Macaques

Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) has been linked to the widespread outbreaks of respiratory illness and acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) in the United States and Europe in 2014, 2016, and 2018. Although EV-D68 is now the most frequently encountered enterovirus (41.1% of cases), with an estimated global prevalence of 4%, there are no specific, FDA-approved therapeutic interventions targeting this virus.

Anti-Nucleoprotein Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus Monoclonal Antibodies for Assay Creation

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is the most widespread form of viral hemorrhagic fever, found in Eastern and Southern Europe, the Mediterranean, northwestern China, central Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. Typically beginning with non-specific fever, myalgia, nausea, diarrhea, and general malaise, symptoms of infection with the tick-borne CCHF virus (CCHFV) can rapidly progress to hemorrhagic manifestations, with case fatality rates as high as 30-40% in some regions.

Renal Selective Unsaturated Englerin Analogues

Englerin A, a natural product, has shown growth-inhibiting activity against renal cancer cell lines. The compound is an agonist of protein kinase C (PCK) theta, which results in cell cytotoxicity, insulin inhibition, and selective activation of viral replication in T cells.  Englerin A derivatives are promising treatment strategies for any diseases associated with PKC theta and/or ion channel proteins.

Anti-Viral Compounds that Inhibit HIV Activity

Several novel tropolone derivatives have been identified that inhibit HIV-1 RNase H function and have potential for anti-viral activity due to reduced cellular toxicity.  Inhibiting RNase H function is a potential treatment for many viral infections, since RNase H function is essential for viral replication for many pathogenic retroviruses such as HIV-1 and HIV-2.  Although many hydroxytropolone compounds are potent RNase H inhibitors biding at the enzymatic active site, they are limited as therapeutic candidates by their toxicity in mammalian cells.  The toxicity thought to

Immortalized Rhesus macaque Bcl-6/Bcl-xL Stable B Cell Lines as Tools for HIV Antibody Discovery

Scientists at NIAID have developed two immortalized stable B cell lines from rhesus macaques that can have value as research tools for the discovery of neutralizing antibodies of simian origin against HIV and that may have value in the development of an HIV vaccine. These B cell lines encode human Bcl-6 and Bcl-xL proteins, which are major regulators of apoptosis. These B cell lines are derived from the lymph node of a rhesus macaque (RM) that was infected with SHIV.CH505.