Cellules (saines et infectées) de sang de patient infecté par le VIH-1 passées sur un trieur

Tubes of cells (healthy and infected) from a blood sample from a patient infected with HIV-1 being placed into the sorter in the P3 laboratory at the Institute of Human Genetics (IGH). These first tubes will be used to adjust and validate the combination of markers selected. The aim is to sort and separate the cells expressing the identified marker (infected cells) from the healthy and infected cells not expressing it. This marker characterises 54% of the total infected cells in the blood on average. It is in this laboratory that this marker has been identified, making it possible to differentiate between dormant or reservoir cells, infected with HIV, and healthy cells. This discovery will make it possible to isolate and analyse these reservoir cells which, by silently hosting the virus, are responsible for its persistence even in patients receiving antiretroviral treatment, whose viral load is undetectable. It offers new therapeutic strategies for targeting infected cells.