Hostile Merger

Sneaking past the first layer of security is one thing, staying undetected once inside is another. Researchers are studying how HIV commandeers macrophages – long-lived immune cells – to persist in the body and evade treatment. A new study has examined HIV-infected T-cells (another type of immune cell) merging with macrophages like two soap bubbles colliding in the air. The result is large cells with multiple command centre structures called nuclei (pictured progressing clockwise from day one, top left, to 20 days, bottom left). Elements of the T cell (green) continue to be expressed even after 20 days in addition to the persisting virus (yellow), showing that the virus doesn’t just infect cells, it installs a working copy and continues to thrive even in the presence of antiviral drugs. Understanding this mechanism by which HIV hides, persists, and resists treatment could be key to gaining the upper hand with new approaches.

Image created using Leica Microsystems microscopy

Written by Anthony Lewis

Anthony Lewis

Writer

Ant was the web editor in the early days of BPoD, and has since worked with the UK’s top science organisations as a writer and multimedia producer. He now splits his time between freelance work and managing multimedia at The Lancet.

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• Image from work by Marie Woottum and colleagues
• Institut Cochin, Inserm U1016, Paris, France, CNRS, Paris, France
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in PLOS Pathogens, April 2025