Editorial: HIV/AIDS Pathogenesis and Prevention

Haibo Wang ^1* XIAOFAN LU ²

• ¹ Zhuhai International Travel Healthcare Center, Zhuhai, China
• ² Beijing Key Laboratory for HIV/AIDS Research, Sino-French Joint Laboratory for Research on Humoral Immune Response to HIV Infection, Clinical and Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) severely damages the immune system, with Tlymphocytes being the primary targets. Although antiretroviral therapy (ART) is effective in treating HIV infection, the virus may remain in reservoirs and cause persistent infection, leading to cumulative deleterious effects on immune function. Therefore, it is crucial for characterizing both virological and immunological mechanisms associated with HIV/AIDS pathogenesis, which would enable us to identify key factors during viral host interaction, facilitating the development of novel vaccines and other therapeutic strategies.This Research Topic aims to invite investigators from all around the world to contribute original research articles as well as review articles that will contribute to ongoing efforts for the elimination of HIV/AIDS. Totally, there were six articles in this Research Topic, including both basic research and clinical studies.People's Hospital investigated the function of polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSCs) during HIV infection. Though there were significant advances in the specific roles of MDSCs in HIV/AIDS-related pathological conditions (Ademe, 2020;Yaseen et al., 2021;Ostrand-Rosenberg et al., 2023) Jing Xiao et al from Beijing Youan Hospital, Captial Medcical University presented a review on the characteristics, implications, and clinical significance of memory stem CD8 + T cells in HIV/Mtb mono-and co-infection. Accumulating evidence has illuminated the significant role of CD8 + T cells in both HIV and Mtb infections (Takata et al., 2022;Winchell et al., 2023), while research about memory stem CD8 + T cells (CD8 + TSCM) in HIV/Mtb co-infection is currently limited. The review discussed the function and potential mechanisms of interaction between HIV/Mtb co-infection and CD8 + TSCM cells, and prospected the development of immunotherapies and vaccines by targeting CD8 + TSCM cells.Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has significantly decreased the mortality of people living with HIV, while the accompanying metabolic syndrome continues to be a significant challenge (Sears et al., 2019;Henning and Greene, 2023) By CT scan and laboratory tests, the patient was confirmed SMARCA4-deficient undifferentiated tumors. Considering the weak immune status, the patient was treated with a first-line combination therapy of immunotherapy and anti-angiogenic drug instead of chemo-immunotherapy and achieved an overall survival for more than 22 months. This case report indicated that first-line treatment with a combination of immunotherapy and anti-angiogenic drugs could be a promising therapeutic strategy for patients with SMARCA4-deficient undifferentiated tumors.Collectively, the research highlighted in this Research Topic underscores the importance of continuous input from the field which could contribute to the elimination of HIV/AIDS. We hope this Research Topic will inspire scientists from different fields of research focusing on the pathogenesis and prevention of HIV/AIDS.