Is gene editing the answer scientists have been looking for to eliminate diseases such as HIV?   A research team at Temple University and Tulane National Primate Research Center (TNPRC) has focused  on removing DNA from viruses, one of the main ways  a virus survives treatments. Now, they’ve seen promising results  that may lead to a …

Researchers at Yerkes National Primate Research Center (YNPRC) have discovered a way to use cancer immunotherapy treatments to reliably shrink the size of the viral “reservoir” in simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected nonhuman primates treated with antiviral drugs. In humans, antiviral drugs can suppress human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to the point of being undetectable in blood, …

Research with animals is crucial to improving human and animal health. Animals in research provide unique insights not available with other scientific models, and they help scientists determine safety and effectiveness of preventions, treatments and cures. During the COVID-19 pandemic, animals in research have been especially important in accelerating the development COVID-19 vaccines as well …

Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV are two of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, and they’re far worse when they occur together. Now, Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC) researchers at Texas Biomedical Research Institute have pinpointed an important mechanism that could lead to a new mode of treatment for this co-infection. It’s been long-assumed the reason …

Could a promising discovery about viral latency help scientists effectively combat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)? The primary obstacle to a cure for HIV infection is the reservoir, or immune cells that harbor the inactive virus when someone is being treated with antiretroviral drugs. One of the leading research strategies for eliminating HIV from the body …

Talking about animals in research may not be part of everyday conversations – unless you work in research, are learning more about it or want to stop it. But if everyone knew how critical animals have been in 2020 to fast-track a safe and effective COVID-19 (coronavirus) vaccine, would that change? Earlier this year, the …

Could a recent discovery about the body’s natural defenses be a stepping stone toward combating kidney-related health issues? Scientists say yes. Macrophages are a type of white blood cell central to the immune system that detect and engulf harmful pathogens, like viruses, bacteria and fungi, serving as helpful scavengers to fight infections. They also cause …

One primary objective of tuberculosis (TB) research is to discover how to treat people with the latent (or inactive) form of the disease so they don’t develop symptomatic TB. Now, a breakthrough study from the Yerkes National Primate Research Center (YNPRC) and Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC) has revealed how a specific combination of …

Note: The NPRCs will update this blog with our latest COVID-19 news. Since beginning COVID-19 research in early 2020, NPRC researchers have made encouraging progress in efforts to better understand, diagnose, prevent and treat this novel disease. We’re committed to conducting and enabling research to end this global pandemic and to providing information so the …

As scientists continue to make progress in the fight against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a recent discovery suggests that certain other microbes may play a role in how the body responds to vaccination. According to researchers at the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC) at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), microbes living in …

Could HIV vaccines be reducing their own effectiveness by stimulating too much help? According to scientists at Yerkes National Primate Research Center (YNPRC), this could be the case. In a recent paper that considered information from four studies on macaques immunized against SIV (HIV’s relative) or the hybrid SHIV virus, the researchers concluded a certain …

Children born to HIV-positive mothers are susceptible to contracting the disease themselves, but scientists at Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) have new evidence suggesting that newborn infection may be entirely preventable. The researchers successfully demonstrated, in a non-human primate model, that a single dose of an antibody-based …

While antiviral medications limit the impact of the disease on daily life, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continues to infect 1.7 million people annually and cause some 770,000 deaths each year, which makes research on the virus a high priority. Recently, a team that includes researchers from the Yerkes National Primate Research Center (YNPRC) at Emory …

Cells that harbor HIV, even while a person is on antiretroviral drugs, are referred to as the “reservoir”. Some of these cells might be able to self-renew/proliferate, thus continually replenishing the virus reservoir. The elusive task of “drying up” this reservoir is key in uncovering a cure. Researchers at Yerkes National Primate Research Center (YNPRC) …

The way that HIV—the virus that causes AIDS—spreads and progresses over time varies among people. A recent study by scientists at Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC) at Texas Biomedical Research Institute shows this variance may be at least partially explained by a genetic mechanism, a discovery that could open the door for more targeted …

While no true cure for HIV/AIDS exists, patients can suppress the virus through a continuous regimen of medication. But now, scientists have discovered a new approach to dealing with HIV infection—one which could eliminate the need for such ongoing treatment. The study was conducted at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center (WiNPRC) with the University …

Rhesus macaques have long been considered the prime model for AIDS vaccine research because these monkeys’ immune systems are analogous to humans. In fact, most medications approved to treat HIV in humans to date have resulted from biomedical research with macaques, much of it performed at the National Primate Research Centers. Now, for the first …

Ebola virus is a continuing threat in Central and West Africa, with an outbreak currently taking place in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But the factors that determine who is most susceptible to Ebola infection are still a mystery. Now,  researchers at Texas Biomedical Research Institute, home to the Southwest National Primate Research Center —in …

Tuberculosis is a major concern for HIV/AIDS patients, as a full one-third of all patients with the autoimmune disease die of complications from TB. But Professor Deepak Kaushal, PhD, of the Southwest National Primate Research Center (SWNPRC) at Texas Biomedical Research Institute, says recent research could help scientists better understand how to prevent this deadly …

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1.1 million people in the United States are living with an HIV infection. In the United States, Louisiana has the third-highest rate of people with an HIV infection and AIDS cases. In 2015, Louisiana-based Tulane National Primate Research Center (TNPRC) was awarded $4.2 million …

Young macaques form an important part of our work at the NPRCs, helping us discover new ways of treating deadly diseases like tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, Zika and more. Two researchers at Southwest NPRC at Texas Biomed recently went the extra mile to ensure these baby monkeys had a place to call their own. https://www.kens5.com/video/news/local/eradicating-tuberculosis-with-the-help-of-macaques/273-4c1dd11c-90e8-40bf-9f51-16157308fe1f

HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS, remains a potent global threat, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and other low-income areas. And while new treatments over the past 40 years have greatly improved the prognosis for those infected, prevention of HIV-1 infection by vaccines or immunoglobulins is not yet established. That may change with a finding at …

In August 2018, Texas Biomedical Research Institute President and CEO Larry Schlesinger, MD named Deepak Kaushal, PhD, the new Director of the Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC). Dr. Kaushal joined SNPRC in January 2019, succeeding the retiring Robert Lanford, PhD As Director of SNPRC, Dr. Kaushal will be responsible for leading a national scientific …

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death in AIDS patients. Unfortunately, no one knows exactly why the disease is such a significant threat in people with immune systems compromised by the HIV virus. But researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Wisconsin–Madison recently reported in Infection and Immunity that a new …

The theme for the 2018 World AIDS Day (December 1) is “Saving Lives through Leadership and Partnerships,” which closely aligns with National Primate Research Center (NPRC) efforts to improve therapies to treat people who are living with HIV/AIDS and to develop a vaccine that is safe and effective against all strains of the virus. For …

What doesn’t kill you might just save your life. At least, that’s the new thinking on how to combat SIV, a variant of HIV. This comes after researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center sequenced the genome of the sooty mangabey – a nonhuman primate that can coexist with SIV – and discovered how …

Top 10 Research Accomplishments at the NPRCs The National Primate Research Centers (NPRCs) have played a crucial role in some of the most important medical breakthroughs of the past 50 years. NPRC research with nonhuman primates (NHPs) is highly regulated, provides unique insights not available with other models and often precedes clinical trials in humans. …

Only one individual in history has been cured of HIV. This person is known as “the Berlin patient,” named for the location where the renowned HIV-ridding procedure took place. Scientists at the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) at OHSU are working to understand how a specific mutation in a gene may block HIV infection …