The immunosuppressive tuberculosis-associated microenvironment inhibits viral replication and promotes HIV-1 latency in CD4+ T cells.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), is the most common coinfection among people living with HIV-1. This coinfection is associated with accelerated HIV-1 disease progression and reduced survival. However, the impact of the HIV-1/TB coinfection on HIV-1 replication and latency in CD4+ T cells remains poorly studied. Using the acellular fraction of tuberculous pleural effusion (TB-PE), we investigated whether viral replication and HIV-1 latency in CD4+ T cells are affected by a TB-associated microenvironment. Our results revealed that TB-PE impaired T cell receptor-dependent cell activation and decreased HIV-1 replication in CD4+ T cells. Moreover, this immunosuppressive TB microenvironment promoted viral latency and inhibited HIV-1 reactivation. This study indicates that the TB-induced immune response may contribute to the persistence of the viral reservoir by silencing HIV-1 expression, allowing the virus to persist undetected by the immune system, and increasing the size of the latent HIV-1 reservoir.

Nutrition essential for wound healing.

Sarah Jane Palmer describes the powerful impact diet can have on the capability of a wound to heal itself. A wide range of nutrients can improve healing, yet malnutrition in everyday diet, regardless of a person's weight, can significantly delay or prevent healing. This article explores wound types, such as chronic wounds and burns, and discusses immunonutrition.

Trauma and psychosocial adversity in youth with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability.

Traumatic experiences contribute significantly to behavioral and mood dysregulation syndromes presenting for treatment to behavioral health settings. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Intellectual Disability (ID) and developmental delay experience traumatic events more frequently than their typically developing peers. However, measures used to identify trauma related disorders and treatment thereof are based on typically developing individuals. Regardless of the baseline characteristics of individuals who experience trauma, trauma exposure is the result of multiple interdependent environmental, social, and familial characteristics. We used the "ecological systems analysis approach" to structure our review of the impact of trauma on those with ASD and ID. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic which exposed the global population to a collective trauma, has also catalyzed investigations into the challenges faced by members of society most dependent on social services. Children with ASD and ID were among those vulnerable individuals, and the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed researchers to better understand the impact of a collective trauma on those individuals. It is imperative that we understand current research and recommendations for identifying and treating trauma-related disorders in individuals with developmental disorders to best inform clinical practice and directions for future research in this area.