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The Molecular Evolutionary Response to HIV-1 and SIVcpz by Human and Non-Human Primates |
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What is MHC and what does it do? What is the molecular basis of chimpanzee resistance to SIVcpz? Are there allelic variants in human population that are protective against HIV? How are humans adapting to selection pressures produced by HIV? What will the future bring?
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Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a pathogenic retrovirus that is responsible for thousands of deaths daily. HIV debilitates its host by attacking CD4 T-lymphocytes, thus successfully destroying the immune system and, consequently, rendering its host vulnerable to a multitude of opportunistic infections. HIV-1, the virus primarily responsible for the current epidemic, is a descendant of SIVcpz a lentivirus found in chimpanzees. However, despite the 98% similarity between the genomes of humans and chimpanzees, SIVcpz does elicit a negative immune response in chimpanzees. This website elucidates the origins of this deadly virus as well as molecular adaptations, undergone by both human and chimpanzees, to HIV and SIVcpz. Additionally, the molecular implications of continued selection pressure on specific loci by HIV-1 are evaluated.
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