HLA-B57 individuals, have a lower level of HIV without any retroviral therapy

[Rosemary]

A mathematical model has revealed part of the secret to why some people infected with HIV never get sick, providing a new target in the attempt to harness that ability in a vaccine, according to research published in Nature.

People who can control their HIV infections carry a specific subtype of the gene for the major histocompatability complex (called HLA in humans). The immune system relies on HLA molecules to train T cells to avoid attacking the body's own tissues by presenting self-peptides. T cells that don't bind too strongly to the HLA-self-peptide complex are then activated against pathogens. Researchers found that individuals with a specific subtype of the HLA molecule, HLA-B57, have a lower level of HIV RNA without any retroviral therapy -- but just how this molecule confers protection has been an area of intense study.


Read more: Math explains HIV immunity - The Scientist - Magazine of the Life Sciences http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/57394/#ixzz0nGr2DU6Z

 

[wciarci]

Hi Rosemary, my post didn't post so I am posting again. I am positive for B27 (similar to B57) and acts to inhibit HIV similarly or so I have read. I am pretty high functioning so I am wondering if this is the reason? Interesting.

Wendy

 

[ramakentesh]

I am also B27 - and I have ankylosing spondylitis as well as CFS/POTS. Id love to know how many CFS patients were also b27 -

 

[HopingSince88]

How does one test for B27?

 

[wciarci]

Hi Hoping,

Simple blood test, ask your doctor to do it.

Wendy

 

[cefn_r]

Ankylosing Spondilytis - Leaky Gut and CFS

My father was a AS Sufferer for most of his life.
Interestingly it seems this can lead to a greater chance of having a leaky gut in relatives who obviously share the same genes, which is also likely to lead to the symptoms of CFS.
I started with CFS some years ago and it was triggered by a serious digestive disturbance, which was never fully explained, and plagues me to this day.
This link on healing your gut also refers to AS and the reference 17 link is interesting. I hope this is of help to someone.

 

[Hope123]

Interesting article. There are a few studies out there looking at HLA types among people with CFS but nothing conclusive. Some of these studies don't seem to have a very clear definition of CFS though IMO.

I'm not sure which HLAs they type for but if anyone signed up to be a potential bone marrow transplant donor in the past in the US (as I did), they do HLA typing and might send you your results. I've been thinking about doing this for a while since I've been on the transplant list for almost 2 decades - they track you for years -- but took myself off after CFS. Try calling them up or the place where you signed up:

http://www.marrow.org/