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Evaluating Human Endogenous Retrovirus and LINE-1 Retrotransposable Element Antigens as Novel Targets for T cell Based HIV-1 Vaccine Strategies

The global HIV-1 pandemic is new only in the sense that it is the latest iteration in a conflict between humans and retroviruses that has spanned millions of years. Bearing witness to this, our genomes are littered with the DNA remnants of ancient retroviruses. These ‘human endogenous retroviruses’ (HERVs) are generally thought to be inert. In this thesis, I explore the hypothesis that HIV-1 has had to make a compromise in order to avoid extermination by a class of cellular defence factors that our cells evolved long ago in order to defend against ancient retroviruses. In disabling these defence factors to allow for its own replication, I posit, that HIV-1 enables the expression of the ancient retroviruses, as well as LINE-1 retroelements, in our genome. I propose to use this against the virus by targeted immune responses against HERV/LINE-1 antigens as a way of killing HIV-1-infected cells.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:OTU.1807/36283
Date15 August 2013
CreatorsJones, Richard Bradley
ContributorsOstrowski, Mario
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
Languageen_ca
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis

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