led by Dr. Satya Dandekar and Dr. Richard Pollard

HIV targets the gut mucosal immune system within days of infection and causes severe CD4+ T cell loss and epithelial barrier disruption. Gut mucosal damage contributes to the viral persistence and chronic immune activation. Although anti-HIV combination therapy suppresses viral replication, it has been ineffective to reverse the mucosal damage and to resolve chronic inflammation. No effective adjunct therapies have been identified to restore the gut mucosal immune system.

This Project will utilize the novel combination of HMO and Bifidobacterium to accelerate mucosal recovery and normalize the microbiota in HIV infected patients. We propose that it will accelerate mucosal recovery and enhance epithelial barrier integrity and will help in resolving chronic inflammation in HIV infected patients. Gut biopsies and peripheral blood samples will be evaluated for the immunologic and virologic outcomes and microbiota will be assessed.