Microbiome-based stratification of individuals at risk of HIV-1 acquisition, chronic clinical complications,antimicrobial drug resistance,and unresponsiveness to therapeutic HIV-1 vaccination

ongoing

The HIV/AIDS pandemic continues to be one of the major health challenges ever faced by mankind. Far from being resolved, HIV is soaring in Eastern Europe (60% increase in new infections and 27% increase in deaths since 2010) and other regions of the world despite increasing access to antiretroviral treatment. There is emerging evidence that the human microbiome impacts some of the most important clinical aspects of HIV-1 infection, including immune disorders, chronic inflammation and accelerated aging. Work in other viral diseases and cancer immunotherapy suggest a critical role of the human microbiome also in the outcome of immune therapeutic interventions in HIV-1 infection. The MISTRAL project brings together a team of world-class HIV and microbiome researchers and SMEs with ideal complementary knowledge and expertise. This team will work to discover and validate novel gut microbiome biomarkers to inform rationally-designed, mechanistically-driven interventions on the gut microbiome to mitigate HIV-1 acquisition, systemic inflammation, chronic clinical complications, antimicrobial drug resistance, and boost the efficacy of HIV cure immunotherapies. Integrated and curated large microbiome and host datasets generated during the execution of the project will be made public through a freely accessible, specifically-dedicated web-based repository. Biomarker discoveries will be incorporated into a cloud-based software tool that will automate microbiome analyses and interpretations, thus streamlining patient stratification for clinical and research purposes. If successful, MISTRAL will benefit millions of human beings living with, or at risk of acquiring HIV-1 infection, and will produce novel concepts and technical innovations applicable to other human diseases. By doing that, MISTRAL will help to unlock the full clinical potential of the human microbiome to stratify patient outcomes and will irreversibly bring microbiome science closer to clinical practice.