🔍 What happens when two of the world’s most impactful infectious diseases collide?
Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV are each complex on their own, but when they occur together, outcomes are significantly worse. For years, we’ve known this clinically, but why the combination accelerates HIV disease has been unclear. A new study led by researchers at WIMR with international partners helps illuminate the biological story behind this. They've found that when a person is living with HIV and develops TB in the lungs, inflammation can cause a build-up of immune cells and fluid in the space around the lungs (a tuberculous pleural effusion). This site becomes a busy meeting point between the immune system and both pathogens.
🧬 The researchers examined this microenvironment closely, looking at:
- The genetic makeup of HIV in this compartment
- Which immune cells were present
- How effectively those immune cells were responding to the virus
What they discovered was striking:
- This site contained more “genetically intact” HIV - the form of the virus that can still replicate. In other words, TB created conditions where HIV was more able to persist.
- The immune cells normally responsible for controlling HIV (CD8+ T cells) were present - but exhausted. They were inflamed, over-activated, and unable to do their job effectively.
Together, these findings suggest that TB creates a niche where HIV can settle in and survive, even when a person is receiving treatment. This matters because:
- Persistence of intact HIV is one of the key reasons we still don’t have a cure.
- Understanding where and why HIV survives helps guide new therapeutic and cure strategies.
✨ This study highlights the importance of studying infections where they happen, not only in the bloodstream but in the tissues where immune responses unfold. It also showcases the power of single-cell sequencing, high-resolution viral genomics and functional immunology to reveal what was previously invisible.
To the researchers, clinicians, participants, and collaborating labs across Australia, Argentina, and France - thank you for pushing this science forward. Samantha Cronin Luciana Balboa Gabriel Duette Andrea Fernanda Pereyra Casanova Yuchen Li Josefina Marin Rojas Freja Warner van Dijk Tom Oneil Kirstie Bertram Gabriela Turk Florencia Quiroga Joaquina Barros ZoĂŻ Vahlas Christel VĂ©rollet Katie Fisher Eunok Lee
đź“„ Read the full preprint: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.14.682453v1
Pictured below are some of the team members involved - Josefina, Gabriel, Sarah, Sam, Jen and Andrea.
