Antibodies somatically mutate to attain high affinity in germinal centers (GCs). There,
competition between B cell clones and among somatic mutants of each clone drives an …

ABSTRACT Approximately 4.4% of the human genome is comprised of endogenous
retroviral sequences, a record of an evolutionary battle between man and retroviruses. Much …

Mast cells (MCs) are strategically located at the host-environment interface and their non-
allergic roles in the immune-surveillance of pathogens have recently gained more attention …

Background: Cell-mediated immune (CMI) responses are critical for the control of HIV-1
infection and their importance was highlighted by the existence of viral proteins, particularly …

Tetherin/BST-2 is a host restriction factor that inhibits retrovirus release from infected cells in
vitro by tethering nascent virions to the plasma membrane. However, contradictory data …

Worldwide more than 2 billion people are infected with helminths, predominantly in
developing countries. Co-infections with viruses such as human immunodeficiency virus …

Type I Interferons (IFNs), including numerous IFNα subtypes and IFNβ, are key molecules
during innate and adaptive immune responses against viral infections. These cytokines …

Therapeutic administration of IFN-α in clinical trials significantly reduced HIV-1 plasma viral
load and human T-lymphotropic virus type I proviral load in infected patients. The …

Infection of cells with human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) is controlled by restriction
factors, host proteins that counteract a variety of steps in the life cycle of this lentivirus. These …

SAMHD1 is a potent HIV-1 restriction factor that blocks reverse transcription in monocytes,
dendritic cells and resting CD4+ T cells by decreasing intracellular dNTP pools. However …