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The Acute Infection and Early Disease Research Program provides grants to support innovative, integrated, investigator-initiated pathogenesis and clinical research on acute and early (up to 12 months post initial infection) HIV-1 infection. Interventions, such as highly active antiretroviral therapy given in the acute and early phases of infection, may be used to increase the understanding of the mechanisms and course of HIV disease. Investigators may also study the roles of both host and viral factors in the persistent decline of immune function that is observed in most people with acute infection. Each awarded unit must have both basic and clinical components and is part of the Acute Infection and Early Disease Research Network. The multi-site network format is required to enroll sufficient numbers of these hard-to-identify patients for study. The Acute Infection and Early Disease Research Program was launched in June, 1997 with the funding of six research units. Additional awards will be made in June, 1999.

Current Studies Supported Under this Program

• Define the role of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) in controlling early infection and determine whether initial HIV-1 specific CD8+ T cell responses are predictive of subsequent disease progression (Lawrence Corey, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center).
• Examine the effect of antiretroviral therapy on virus in the blood and lymphoid tissue and on CTL response and monitor B and T cell responses (David Ho, Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center).
• Evaluate the effect of therapy on viral load, the rate at which the virus is produced, immune activation and CD8+ T cell function (Jay Levy, University of California at San Francisco).
• Explore how the virus adapts to the host during early infection and determine whether treatment during acute infection allows the immune system to recover its function (Joe Margolick, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine).
• Examine the differences between virus in the lymph tissue and the blood, and determine the types of cells that are involved in active versus latent infection (Robert Schooley, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center).
• Study HIV distribution and sequestration in the body, its form in various reservoirs, the dynamics of virus reproduction and the host immunogenetic profile (George Shaw, University of Alabama at Birmingham).

Accessing These Resources

• To determine the suitability of a research idea for the Acute Infection and Early Disease Research Network please contact Dr. Carla Pettinelli (phone: 301-496-7620; e-mail: cp22n@nih.gov).
• To view the "Acute Infection and Early Disease Research Network" Program Announcement (PA-96-060) please click here.