南非青少年女性有异常高的HIV感染率，而且多年来，科学家们猜测可能存在生物学因子让她们特别容易感染上HIV。2016年在南非德班市举行的世界艾滋病大会（International AIDS Conference）上发布的新研究提出一种可能的罪魁祸首：二路普雷沃尔菌（Prevotella bivia），即一种在阴道中发现的导致炎症的细菌。仔细地研究阴道微生物组发现第二种细菌---加德纳菌（Gardnerella）---可能有助解释为何含有抗HIV药物替诺福韦的杀微生物凝胶不能够保护在临床试验中使用这种凝胶的未感染女性。在试管实验中，加德纳菌“吞食”替诺福韦，快速地降低这种药的含量。
South African teen girls and young women have astonishingly high rates of HIV infection, and researchers for years have suspected that there might be biological factors making them unusually susceptible to infection. New studies presented at the International AIDS Conference being held in Durban, South Africa—located in KwaZulu-Natal province, the hardest hit region in the country—suggest a possible culprit, Prevotella bivia, a bacterium found in the vagina that causes inflammation. The close examination of the vaginal microbiome found a second bacterium,Gardnerella, may help explain why a microbicide gel that contained the anti-HIV drug tenofovir failed to protect many uninfected women who used it in a clinical trial. In test tube experiments,Garnderella "gobbled up" tenofovir, rapidly reducing levels of the drug.
Since the discovery of HIV-1 more than 30 years ago, prevention and treatment strategies have dominated the research agenda. More recently, however, scientists are also focusing their efforts toward finding a cure. Margolis et al. review an approach that involves HIV-1 latency reversal and viral clearance. The idea is to reactivate any dormant virus and coax it to produce viral proteins that the immune system can recognize. By combining a latency reversal strategy with immunotherapies, the body might be able to rid itself of all infected cells.
As evidence grew for a causal link between Zika infection and microcephaly and other serious congenital anomalies , the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Latin American Zika epidemic a public health emergency of international concern in February 2016 . The speed of spread has made effective public health responses challenging. Immediate responses have included vector control and advice to delay pregnancy in a few countries , followed by an extended recommendation to all affected countries by WHO in June 2016. These have merits but are likely to have limited effectiveness and may interact antagonistically. Fuller understanding of dynamics and drivers of the epidemic is needed to assess longer-term risks to prioritize interventions.
4. Science：我国科学家在HIV-1病毒包膜刺突蛋白质的跨膜区结构研究取得进展
国际顶尖学术期刊《科学》Science在线发表了中国科学院上海生命科学研究院生物化学与细胞生物学研究所国家蛋白质科学中心（上海）周界文研究组与哈佛医学院Bing Chen博士研究团队 的合作研究论文“Structural Basis for Membrane Anchoring of HIV-1 Envelope Spike”。该研究采用液体核磁共振技术首次揭示了HIV病毒包膜刺突（HIV-1 Envelope Spike）跨膜区域 的精细三维结构。该研究首次在原子水平上展示了跨膜结构区域是如何锚定、稳定和调控HIV病毒包膜刺突三聚体的分子机理。为针对艾滋病病毒的疫苗设计提供新的思路。
HIV-1 envelope spike (Env) is a type I membrane protein that mediates viral entry. We used nuclear magnetic resonance to determine an atomic structure of the transmembrane (TM) domain of HIV-1 Env reconstituted in bicelles that mimic a lipid bilayer. The TM forms a well-ordered trimer that protects a conserved membrane-embedded arginine. An amino-terminal coiled-coil and a carboxyl-terminal hydrophilic core stabilize the trimer. Individual mutations of conserved residues did not disrupt the TM trimer and minimally affected membrane fusion and infectivity. Major changes in the hydrophilic core, however, altered the antibody sensitivity of Env. These results show how a TM domain anchors, stabilizes, and modulates a viral envelope spike and suggest that its influence on Env conformation is an important consideration for HIV-1 immunogen design.