Retrovirology Blog
New Book: Recent Advances in Human Retroviruses, Principles of Replication and Pathogenesis
A new book “Recent Advances in Human Retroviruses: Principles of Replication and Pathogenesis” has been published this month by World Scientific Press. A description of this book can be viewed at the following link https://www.worldscibooks.com/lifesci/7629.html . This book is edited by three Retrovirology editors, Andrew ML Lever, Kuan-Teh Jeang, and Ben Berkhout. It is somewhat different from similar volumes in covering simultaneously the three major types of human retroviruses, HIV, HTLV, and human endogenous retroviruses. There are 15 chapters spanning almost 500 pages. Each chapter is informatively illustrated and written with a clarity and depth that should appeal to students, researchers, and medical professionals. The 15 chapters with authors are listed below.
- The Role of Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells in Retroviral Pathogenesis (P Banerjee et al.)
- Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1, Cellular Transformation, and Adult T-Cell Leukemia (J Yasunaga & K-T Jeang)
- Application of Proteomics to HTLV-1: Understanding Pathogenesis and Enhancing Diagnostics (O J Semmes et al.)
- Antisense Transcription in Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1: Discovery of a New Viral Gene (B Barbeau et al.)
- Regulation of HTLV-1 Transcription by Viral and Cellular Proteins (
N Polakowski & I Lemasson) - Cellular Factors Involved in HIV-1 RNA Transport (C A Williams et al.)
- Integration Site Selection by Retroviruses and Retroviral Vectors (C Cattoglio & F Mavilio)
- Syncytins in Normal and Pathological Placentas (A Malassiné et al.)
- Vpu, Tetherin and Innate Immunity: Antiviral Restriction of Retroviral Particle Release (S J D Neil)
- Retrovirus Replication: New Perspectives on Enzyme and Substrate Dynamics (J W Rausch et al.)
- Non-Human Primates in HIV-1 Research (W M J M Bogers)
- Lentiviral Integration and the Role of the Cellular Cofactors LEDGF/p75 and Transportin-SR2 (B van Heertum et al.)
- Retrovirus Restriction Factors (R S Harris et al.)
- Rev Revisited: Additional Functions of the HIV-1 Rev Protein (B Grewe & K Überla)
- HIV-1 Interactions with Small RNA Induced Silencing Mechanisms (J Haasnoot & B Berkhout)
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 23:48 Comments (0)
Retrovirology Editors attend the IAS Vienna AIDS meeting
Four Retrovirology editors and several Retrovirology Editorial board members attended the recent International AIDS meeting held in Vienna, Austria. They also participated in the smaller focused HIV-1 Reservoirs pre-meeting symposium. The editors included Ben Berkhout, Kuan-Teh Jeang, Mark Wainberg and Monsef Benkirane. 
Top: Ben Berkhout, Kuan-Teh Jeang, Mark Wainberg. Bottom: Monsef Benkirane, Kuan-Teh Jeang and Ben Berkhout.
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 15:08 Comments (0)
A few days ago, ISI Thomson released the 2009 Impact Factor report. I don’t place too much credence on isolated Impact Factors, but they are worth considering in the context of other data. Based on the 2009 release, Retroviirology continues to be positioned firmly in second place amongst virology journals that publish original research. We pay some attention to how we compare with other virology journals. Below, I show the three years’ trend for J. Virol, Retrovirology and Virology. Both J Virol and Virol have experienced small drops in Impact Factor, while Retrovirology has remained steady and managed a small gain. For Retrovirology this increase is occurring even in the face of our publishing 10 to 15% more papers each year. (The first number is 2007 IF, then 2008 IF, and 2009 IF)
J. Virol. 5.33 5.30 5.15
Retrovirology 4.04 4.04 4.10
Virol ogy 3.76 3.53 3.04
Of interest, I also looked at the 2008 and 2009 Impact Factor numbers for some of the other journals that retrovirus research papers often are published. The Journal of Molecular Biology went from 4.15 to 3.87; Biochemistry from 3.38 to 3.33; the Journal of Biological Chemistry from 5.52 to 5.33; Journal of Neurovirology from 1.86 to 2.34.
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 16:25 Comments (0)
Meeting the wonderful staff at BMC in London
Last week, I had the opportunity to finally meet in person many of the folks at BMC. The realities of electronic publishing are that you are in constant contact with many people who you never see and have never met personally. On the occasion of the BMC award reception, I had the opportunity to meet some of the very capable staff who work with me daily in publishing Retrovirology. When the story of Open Access publishing is finally written, it will in part be a magical tale about BMC and these capable young people doing great things to change the face of publishing. I am immensely grateful and honored for the privilege of working with such outstanding individuals.
Ruth, Alison, Ed, Srimathy, Charlotte with Teh (not pictured Natalie Hill).
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 14:08 Comments (0)
Seven new Retrovirology editorial board members
Periodically, Retrovirology rotates a portion of its editorial board. We are delighted to welcome the following 7 new members to our board. They are Klaus Uberla (Germany), Juan Martin-Serrano (UK), Peter Cherepanov (UK), Carlos Brites (Brazil), Rob Gorelick (US), Shibo Jiang (US), and Rosemary Kiernan (France).
We wish to thank the wonderful services of the following departing editoral board members: Nafees Ahmad (US), David Brighty (UK), Warner Greene (US), Finn Skou Pedersen (Denmark), Roger Pomerantz (US), Leonid Margolis (US); and once again, we acknowldege the untimely passing of our board member David Derse (US).
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 14:18 Comments (0)
Institute of Human Virology holds 12th Annual meeting in Italy
The Institute of Human Virology in Baltimore, Maryland will hold its 12th Annual International Meeting Oct 4-8th, 2010, in Tropea, Calabria, Italy. A meeting poster is shown below, and interested colleagues should consult the following website to view the program and registration information. http://medschool.umaryland.edu/ihv_meeting/ 
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 00:01 Comments (0)
A series of review articles on HIV and macrophages
This month Retrovirology has published a series of reviews on HIV and macrophages. This is an important topic that is comprehensively covered by these 8 papers. Below is a listing of the 7 review articles and 1 summarizing commentary. These articles have been catalyzed by the efforts of Monsef Benkirane who is the Retrovirology editor who initated this series.
Review 
Limelight on two HIV/SIV accessory proteins in macrophage infection: Is Vpx overshadowing Vpr ?
Diana Ayinde, Claire Maudet, Catherine Transy, Florence Margottin-Goguet
Retrovirology 2010, 7:35 (9 April 2010)
[Abstract] [Provisional PDF]
Review
Macrophage signaling in HIV-1 infection
Georges Herbein, Gabriel Gras, Kashif Aziz Khan, Wasim Abbas
Retrovirology 2010, 7:34 (9 April 2010)
[Abstract] [Provisional PDF]
Review
The macrophage in HIV-1 infection: From activation to deactivation?
Georges Herbein, Audrey Varin
Retrovirology 2010, 7:33 (9 April 2010)
[Abstract] [Provisional PDF]
Review
Molecular mechanisms of HIV-1 persistence in the monocyte-macrophage lineage
Valentin Le Douce, Georges Herbein, Olivier Rohr, Christian Schwartz
Retrovirology 2010, 7:32 (9 April 2010)
[Abstract] [Provisional PDF]
Review
Host hindrance to HIV-1 replication in monocytes and macrophages
Anna Bergamaschi, Gianfranco Pancino
Retrovirology 2010, 7:31 (7 April 2010)
[Abstract] [Provisional PDF] [PubMed] [Related articles]
Review
Molecular mechanisms of neuroinvasion by monocytes-macrophages in HIV-1 infection
Gabriel Gras, Marcus Kaul
Retrovirology 2010, 7:30 (7 April 2010)
[Abstract] [Provisional PDF]
Review
HIV-1 assembly in macrophages
Philippe Benaroch, Elisabeth Billard, Raphael Gaudin, Michael Schindler, Mabel Jouve
Retrovirology 2010, 7:29 (7 April 2010)
[Abstract] [Provisional PDF]
Commentary
Journey to the heart of macrophages: the delicate relationship between HIV-1 and a multifaceted cell type
Andrea Cimarelli
Retrovirology 2010, 7:28 (7 April 2010)
[Abstract] [Provisional PDF]
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 21:00 Comments (0)
Kurth & Bannert's "Retroviruses" book
A few weeks ago, I was sent a book “Retroviruses: Molecular Biology, Genomic, and Pathogenesis” (www.caister.com ) edited by Reinhard Kurth and Norbert Bannert. I was asked to make a few comments about this book and to publicize it in the Retrovirology blog. Certainly, Retrovirology blog is an appropriate venue to bring to the attention of the retrovirus community expertly written and edited books like this one. I should, however, put out a disclaimer. Andrew Lever,
I wanted to read the Kurth and Bannert “Retroviruses” book immediately when I first received it. However, due to other commitments, I decided to first file it away on my book shelf. Upon doing so, I quickly realized that the K& B “Retroviruses” title in some ways could be confused by younger colleagues with the very similarly titled “Retroviruses” tome edited by Coffin, Hughes & Varmus. Both books have the same intention of reviewing the biology of retroviruses. The K&B version is more nuanced while the CH&V one is more comprehensive in scope.
Kurth and Bannert’s “Retroviruses” has sixteen chapters covering retrotransposons, endogenous retroviruses, animal retroviruses, and of course the human retroviruses HIV-1 and HTLV-1. For HIV-1, there is especially good coverage of entry, uncoating, reverse transcription, integration, transcription, splicing, assembly and release. These aspects are a bit unevenly covered for the other retroviruses. For example, the chapter on “Transcription of…retroviral RNA” is essentially restricted to the mechanisms of Tat and HIV-1 LTR. Uninitiated students might then be surprised to learn elsewhere that the mechanisms of other LTRs and that of the HTLV-1 Tax protein are quite different. Despite the expected bias towards HIV-1, the book does contain excellent chapters on non-primate mammalian retroviruses, simian retroviruses, fish retroviruses, use of retroviral vectors, and cellular factors that restrict retroviral infection. All the chapters are beautifully illustrated and written by some of the most respected authorities in the field.
I highly recommend K&B’s “Retroviruses” book to both students and expert colleagues.
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 17:34 Comments (0)
Thierry Heidmann lectures in Montpellier
Earlier this month Thierry Heidmann delivered a lecture in Montpellier, France and received his Retrovriology Prize trophy. Colleagues organized a "lunch buffet" in his honor. Thierry is pictured with several colleagues below.
From left to right: Christian Devaux, Marc Sitbon, Thierry Heidmann, and Monsef Benkirane.
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 18:52 Comments (0)
Retrovirology article discussed in amfAR eNews
Below is an article from amfAR eNews.
Animal Model Enables Researchers to Track the Evolution of HIV
Jeffrey Laurence, M.D., and Rowena Johnston, Ph.D.
However, sometimes a virus evolves that can out-compete the virus that initially infected the patient, due to changes that may render it less susceptible to attack by the immune system or antiretroviral drugs. These new drug-resistant viruses may also be more or less likely to be transmitted sexually. Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) itself exerts “pressure” on HIV populations to evolve, leading to the natural selection of resistant viruses that may have any of the above characteristics. It is therefore crucial to understand how quickly and under which circumstances these drug-resistant viruses emerge, and whether they have any clinically relevant ramifications.
It is difficult to study the emergence of drug-resistant virus in people because of complicating factors such as the potential for repeat infections with new viral strains or imperfect HAART adherence, which is known to increase the rate at which drug resistance emerges. amfAR grantee Dr. Zandrea Ambrose, working at the University of Pittsburgh, with colleagues from the National Cancer Institute, Tufts University, and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, solved these problems by using an animal model that could better control for these possibilities and permit new studies of the evolution of HIV and HIV drug resistance.
Writing in the November issue of the journal Retrovirology, Ambrose and associates reported using a chimeric AIDS virus created in the laboratory by joining the outer envelope and other genes of the monkey AIDS virus, SIV, with the reverse transcriptase gene of the human AIDS virus, HIV. Nine different versions of this virus were injected into three monkeys. The researchers were then able to follow the fate of each of the nine virus subpopulations as they competed with each other for survival inside a single animal under three different conditions. Initially, the monkeys received no treatment, then they were treated with a single anti-HIV drug, and finally, they received a complete HAART regimen consisting of three different anti-HIV drugs.
When the monkeys were treated with a single drug, the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor efavirenz (Sustiva), viruses carrying mutations that rendered them resistant to efavirenz became dominant within about three months. However, during subsequent treatment with HAART, those viruses that were able to replicate during treatment with efavirenz alone were predominantly susceptible to more comprehensive anti-HIV therapy. This suggested that when a subject is being treated with a full complement of anti-HIV drugs, the presence or absence of at least some known drug-resistant mutations does not greatly influence which types of virus persist, in that drug-resistant virus does not necessarily overtake the original virus.
The authors concluded, “Our new method provided a valuable tool for studying HIV subpopulation emergence, persistence, and decline during ART.”
Dr. Laurence is amfAR’s senior scientific consultant and Dr. Johnston is vice president and director of research.
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 16:59 Comments (0)
The 2009 Retrovirology Prize trophy
Below is a picture of the 2009 Retrovirology Prize trophy awarded to Thierry Heidmann.
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 18:04 Comments (0)
Proclamation of World AIDS Day 2009 by President Obama
The following is the Proclamation of World AIDS Day 2010 by US President Barack Obama.
Presidential Proclamation-- World AIDS Day
A PROCLAMATION
Our Nation joins the world in celebrating the extraordinary advancements we have made in the battle against HIV and AIDS, and remembering those we have lost. Over the past three decades, brave men and women have fought devastating discrimination, stigma, doubt, and violence as they stood in the face of this deadly disease. Many of them would not be here today, but for the dedication of other persons living with HIV, their loved ones and families, community advocates, and members of the medical profession. On World AIDS Day, we rededicate ourselves to developing a national AIDS strategy that will establish the priorities necessary to combat this devastating epidemic at home, and to renewing our leadership role and commitments abroad.
Though we have been witness to incredible progress, our struggle against HIV/AIDS is far from over. With an infection occurring every nine-and-a-half minutes in America, there are more than one million individuals estimated to be living with the disease in our country. Of those currently infected, one in five does not know they have the condition, and the majority of new infections are spread by people who are unaware of their own status. HIV/AIDS does not discriminate as it infiltrates neighborhoods and communities. Americans of any gender, age, ethnicity, income, or sexual orientation can and are contracting the disease.
Globally, there are over 33 million people living with HIV. While millions have died from this disease, the death rate is slowly declining due, in part, to our Nation's global effort through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program. However, HIV remains a leading cause of death worldwide. Women and children around the world are particularly vulnerable due to gender inequalities, gaps in access to services, and increases in sexual violence. While the statistics are distressing, new medications and scientific advancements give us reason for hope.
Tackling this disease will take an aggressive, steadfast approach. My Administration is developing a national HIV/AIDS strategy to bolster our response to the domestic epidemic, and a global health initiative that will build on PEPFAR's success. We will develop a strategy to reduce HIV incidence, improve access to care, and help eliminate HIV-related health disparities. We have already ensured that visitors to our shores living with HIV are not marginalized and discriminated against because of their HIV status. We have also secured the continuation of critical HIV/AIDS care and treatment services. Today, we recommit ourselves to building on the accomplishments of the past decades that have dramatically changed the domestic and global HIV/AIDS landscape.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim December 1, 2009, as World AIDS Day. I urge the Governors of the States and the territories subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and the American people to join in appropriate activities to remember those who have lost their lives to AIDS, and to provide support and comfort to those living with this disease.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.
BARACK OBAMA
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 22:34 Comments (0)
Citations to Retrovirology articles continue to trend positively
We and others have made the point that a much better measure of scientific importance is reflected in actual citation numbers rather than in the often difficult to understand term “Impact Factor” (see http://www.retrovirology.com/content/6/1/82 ). Accordingly, it is informative to consider periodically how total citations to Retrovirology as a journal stack up. Below, you will see a graph of data captured from ISI Web of Science tabulating annual citations to Retrovirology from 2005 to November 20, 2009. Please keep in mind that there is a bit more than a month remaining in 2009, so the final number for 2009 will be higher. Nevertheless, the slope of annual citations to Retrovirology articles continues in 2009 in an encouragingly positive manner.
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 13:50 Comments (0)
This morning Maureen Shuh, a former post doctoral fellow with David Derse, wrote me to say "It is with great sadness that I inform you that Dr. David Derse passed away last night. He had advanced stage liver cancer which was not diagnosed until several weeks ago at which point it was too late. He did not suffer, and he was surrounded by his family."
David was a valued member of the Retrovirology editorial board; he was an esteemed colleague and a good friend. We will miss David very much. We plan to publish an obituary of David in Retrovirology soon.
David Derse
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 21:43 Comments (0)
Postdoctoral position available in Vienna Austria
Retrovirology / Cancer Research / Stanislav Indik, Walter Günzburg
University of
A four year PostDoc position is available in the
Large body of scientific evidence suggests that a retrovirus that is closely related to the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV), which is associated with mammary adenocarcinomas and T-cell lymphomas in mice, is responsible for breast carcinogenesis in humans. A number of independent laboratories identified DNA sequences of MMTV-like virus as well as the presence of anti-MMTV antibody-crossreactive proteins in human breast cancer tissue. Furthermore, recently our laboratory unequivocally demonstrated that MMTV is capable of infecting various human breast cancer cell lines. This evidence further supports the idea that MMTV (or a virus that is very closely related to MMTV) is enzootically transmitted from mouse to human, similarly as it has recently been suggested for another retrovirus - xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) that was shown to be associated with human prostate cancer.
Our aim is to isolate MMTV-like virus from a human breast cancer tissue and demonstrate its potential to productively infect human cells and cause carcinogenic transformation in an animal in vivo model. Furthermore, we would like to investigate a possible role of the newly discovered MMTV-encoded accessory proteins in tumorigenesis.
Successful candidate must hold a PhD degree in life sciences or Dr. med.vet. or Dr. med. degree. Applicants should have a keen interest in cancer research and a strong background in molecular biology. Application should contain: full CV, publication list, application letter, 2 letters of recommendation and should be submitted electronically to: rektorat@vetmeduni.ac.at ; stanislav.indik@vetmeduni.ac.at ; Walter.Guenzburg@vetmeduni.ac.at (Also for informal enquiries).
Further information:
http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/jobs/107174-Postdoctoral-Fellowships
http://www.vetmeduni.ac.at/en/research/postdoc/pd190/
Closing date for proposals: Oct 30th 2009
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 20:12 Comments (0)