The Confluence of HIV-1 and HIV-2: Implications for Disease Progression and Insights for Therapy

Two distinct types of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), namely, HIV-1 and HIV-2 exist. HIV-1 is responsible for the global pandemic and has an aggressive pathogenesis. On the contrary, HIV-2 is not only less aggressive but also confined to West and Central African regions. Even after four decades...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Edwin Magomere, Charles Ochieng’ Olwal, Becky Ewurama Tetteh, Mark Appeaning, Thumbi Ndung’u, George Boateng Kyei, Peter Kojo Quashie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-01-01
Series:International Journal of Microbiology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/ijm/3145677
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849719402001334272
author Edwin Magomere
Charles Ochieng’ Olwal
Becky Ewurama Tetteh
Mark Appeaning
Thumbi Ndung’u
George Boateng Kyei
Peter Kojo Quashie
author_facet Edwin Magomere
Charles Ochieng’ Olwal
Becky Ewurama Tetteh
Mark Appeaning
Thumbi Ndung’u
George Boateng Kyei
Peter Kojo Quashie
author_sort Edwin Magomere
collection DOAJ
description Two distinct types of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), namely, HIV-1 and HIV-2 exist. HIV-1 is responsible for the global pandemic and has an aggressive pathogenesis. On the contrary, HIV-2 is not only less aggressive but also confined to West and Central African regions. Even after four decades of HIV research, a scalable cure or effective vaccine against HIV remains elusive. Consequently, the concept of a functional cure or vaccine, targeting to limit disease progression, allowing sufficient time for the immune response to clear the virus, has gained traction. Efforts to identify new therapeutic targets for development of a functional cure have focused on elite controllers, that is, individuals who naturally control HIV-1 infection in the absence of antiretroviral therapy. However, little progress has been associated with these efforts perhaps due to the scarcity of elite controllers, who make up only 0.15% of HIV-1 infected population globally. A distinct but largely unexplored subset of HIV patients comprise HIV-1 and HIV-2 dually infected individuals. This group of patients naturally presents with an attenuated disease progression phenotype akin to natural controllers. In this review, we discuss the attenuated disease progression phenomenon in dually infected individuals and offer potential explanations for this unanticipated observation. Additionally, we propose potential therapeutic and/or vaccine strategies that could leverage interactions of HIV-1 and HIV-2. Such strategies are likely to inform alternative therapeutics. A thorough understanding of the mechanism underlying the attenuated disease progression phenotype in HIV dually infected individuals is crucial for the design of a functional cure.
format Article
id doaj-art-2cd1cfd53fa4445c9f3925effcfee7e0
institution DOAJ
issn 1687-9198
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series International Journal of Microbiology
spelling doaj-art-2cd1cfd53fa4445c9f3925effcfee7e02025-08-20T03:12:09ZengWileyInternational Journal of Microbiology1687-91982025-01-01202510.1155/ijm/3145677The Confluence of HIV-1 and HIV-2: Implications for Disease Progression and Insights for TherapyEdwin Magomere0Charles Ochieng’ Olwal1Becky Ewurama Tetteh2Mark Appeaning3Thumbi Ndung’u4George Boateng Kyei5Peter Kojo Quashie6West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious PathogensWest African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious PathogensWest African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious PathogensWest African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious PathogensAfrica Health Research InstituteDepartment of VirologyWest African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious PathogensTwo distinct types of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), namely, HIV-1 and HIV-2 exist. HIV-1 is responsible for the global pandemic and has an aggressive pathogenesis. On the contrary, HIV-2 is not only less aggressive but also confined to West and Central African regions. Even after four decades of HIV research, a scalable cure or effective vaccine against HIV remains elusive. Consequently, the concept of a functional cure or vaccine, targeting to limit disease progression, allowing sufficient time for the immune response to clear the virus, has gained traction. Efforts to identify new therapeutic targets for development of a functional cure have focused on elite controllers, that is, individuals who naturally control HIV-1 infection in the absence of antiretroviral therapy. However, little progress has been associated with these efforts perhaps due to the scarcity of elite controllers, who make up only 0.15% of HIV-1 infected population globally. A distinct but largely unexplored subset of HIV patients comprise HIV-1 and HIV-2 dually infected individuals. This group of patients naturally presents with an attenuated disease progression phenotype akin to natural controllers. In this review, we discuss the attenuated disease progression phenomenon in dually infected individuals and offer potential explanations for this unanticipated observation. Additionally, we propose potential therapeutic and/or vaccine strategies that could leverage interactions of HIV-1 and HIV-2. Such strategies are likely to inform alternative therapeutics. A thorough understanding of the mechanism underlying the attenuated disease progression phenotype in HIV dually infected individuals is crucial for the design of a functional cure.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/ijm/3145677
spellingShingle Edwin Magomere
Charles Ochieng’ Olwal
Becky Ewurama Tetteh
Mark Appeaning
Thumbi Ndung’u
George Boateng Kyei
Peter Kojo Quashie
The Confluence of HIV-1 and HIV-2: Implications for Disease Progression and Insights for Therapy
International Journal of Microbiology
title The Confluence of HIV-1 and HIV-2: Implications for Disease Progression and Insights for Therapy
title_full The Confluence of HIV-1 and HIV-2: Implications for Disease Progression and Insights for Therapy
title_fullStr The Confluence of HIV-1 and HIV-2: Implications for Disease Progression and Insights for Therapy
title_full_unstemmed The Confluence of HIV-1 and HIV-2: Implications for Disease Progression and Insights for Therapy
title_short The Confluence of HIV-1 and HIV-2: Implications for Disease Progression and Insights for Therapy
title_sort confluence of hiv 1 and hiv 2 implications for disease progression and insights for therapy
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/ijm/3145677
work_keys_str_mv AT edwinmagomere theconfluenceofhiv1andhiv2implicationsfordiseaseprogressionandinsightsfortherapy
AT charlesochiengolwal theconfluenceofhiv1andhiv2implicationsfordiseaseprogressionandinsightsfortherapy
AT beckyewuramatetteh theconfluenceofhiv1andhiv2implicationsfordiseaseprogressionandinsightsfortherapy
AT markappeaning theconfluenceofhiv1andhiv2implicationsfordiseaseprogressionandinsightsfortherapy
AT thumbindungu theconfluenceofhiv1andhiv2implicationsfordiseaseprogressionandinsightsfortherapy
AT georgeboatengkyei theconfluenceofhiv1andhiv2implicationsfordiseaseprogressionandinsightsfortherapy
AT peterkojoquashie theconfluenceofhiv1andhiv2implicationsfordiseaseprogressionandinsightsfortherapy
AT edwinmagomere confluenceofhiv1andhiv2implicationsfordiseaseprogressionandinsightsfortherapy
AT charlesochiengolwal confluenceofhiv1andhiv2implicationsfordiseaseprogressionandinsightsfortherapy
AT beckyewuramatetteh confluenceofhiv1andhiv2implicationsfordiseaseprogressionandinsightsfortherapy
AT markappeaning confluenceofhiv1andhiv2implicationsfordiseaseprogressionandinsightsfortherapy
AT thumbindungu confluenceofhiv1andhiv2implicationsfordiseaseprogressionandinsightsfortherapy
AT georgeboatengkyei confluenceofhiv1andhiv2implicationsfordiseaseprogressionandinsightsfortherapy
AT peterkojoquashie confluenceofhiv1andhiv2implicationsfordiseaseprogressionandinsightsfortherapy