# A Rhesus Macaque Model of HIV and HBV co-infection

> **NIH NIH R01** · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $782,991

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
HIV and HBV are both recognized as major global health concerns. HIV infects 37 million people worldwide,
while HBV infects 257 million. HIV/HBV co-infection is common due to highly similar routes of transmission, with
an estimated 10% of HIV-infected individuals also infected with HBV. In addition to their similar sexual and
percutaneous routes of transmission, HIV and HBV also share the ability to drive chronic infection, liver
dysfunction, liver fibrosis, and immune exhaustion. For these reasons, co-infection with HIV and HBV is
associated with higher probabilities of health complications, particularly liver fibrosis and hepatocellular
carcinoma (HCC).
HIV infected patients are up to 6-times more likely to progress to chronic HBV infection and have higher levels
of HBV viremia. The mechanisms contributing to the increased liver dysfunction and fibrosis seen in HIV/HBV
co-infected individuals are not currently understood. Multiple hypotheses have been proposed, but the ability to
study these hypotheses is hindered by lack of a robust HBV infection model. Thus, there remains an urgent need
to develop novel, physiologically relevant models of HIV/HBV co-infection to study the interaction between these
viruses.
Here, we present the first rhesus macaque model of HBV infection and propose an urgently needed,
physiologically relevant HIV/HBV co-infection animal model. We believe that our new rhesus macaque model of
HBV infection will be on the forefront of HBV research, and is becoming available at a crucial time where efforts
are now turning towards cure strategies for both HIV and HBV. Given the urgent need for tractable animal models
of HIV/HBV co-infection, we believe the research proposed herein to be of the highest significance.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10768627
- **Project number:** 5R01AI157612-04
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Benjamin J Burwitz
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $782,991
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-03-20 → 2026-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10768627

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10768627, A Rhesus Macaque Model of HIV and HBV co-infection (5R01AI157612-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10768627. Licensed CC0.

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