Compositions and methods for detecting and treating HIV infections
View Patent ↗HIV infection can be detected by measuring phosphorylation levels of the actin-depolymerizing factor (AFD)/cofilin family, and infection can be treated and/or prevented by modulating the HIV co-receptor signaling pathway.
1. A method for monitoring disease progression in a patient infected with HIV, comprising
(A) measuring the phosphorylation level of cofilin in a sample from said patient, and
(B) correlating a reduction in cofilin phosphorylation to a state below that normally present in resting T-cells to a progression of disease.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the phosphorylation level is measured for the serine at amino acid position 3.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said measuring is conducted by detecting a phosphorylation-driven conformational change on electron transport in a closed circuit comprising cofilin.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the phosphorylation level is measured using an anti-phospho-cofilin (ser3) antibody.
5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the phosphorylation level is measured using an anti-phospho-cofilin (ser3) antibody.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein said measurement comprises computing the ratio of phosphorylated cofilin to total cofilin and said correlation comprises correlating a ratio of less than one to a progression of disease.