# Impact of the gut microbiome on HIV-1 rectal transmission and immunopathogenesis during ART

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA LINCOLN · 2020 · $188,892

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
The overall goal of this proposed project is to better understand the impact of the gut
microbiome on rectal transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1 (HIV) and the
incomplete immune reconstitution and increased immune activation and inflammation after viral
suppression by combined anti-retroviral therapy (ART). We hypothesize that the gut microbiome
plays an important role in determining the susceptibility to rectal transmission of HIV and in
restoring normal immune cell populations in the gut after suppressive ART treatment. Therefore,
the proposed studies are designed to fill critical knowledge gaps about how the gut microbiome
impacts HIV infection and gut immune function. In order to close these knowledge gaps, we will
use our double humanized mouse model that has been developed in our lab to answer two
important questions. First, does the composition of the gut microbiome impact host susceptibility
to rectal HIV infection? This information could be critical for developing novel prevention
strategies and for informing vaccine design. Secondly, how does the gut microbiome impact gut
immune cell reconstitution as well as elevated systemic inflammation and immune activation
during suppressive ART treatment? This information could be used to develop new therapeutic
strategies to restore gut immune cell populations to pre-infection levels, resolve persistent
inflammation and immune activation, and decrease morbidity in HIV infected patients.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9968007
- **Project number:** 5R21AI143405-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA LINCOLN
- **Principal Investigator:** Qingsheng Li
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $188,892
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9968007

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9968007, Impact of the gut microbiome on HIV-1 rectal transmission and immunopathogenesis during ART (5R21AI143405-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9968007. Licensed CC0.

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