{
  "id": 7241821,
  "title": "Plasma Proteomic Profiling Identifies a Subset of HIV Elite Controllers with Inflammatory Profiles Resembling People Without HIV",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/plasma-proteomic-profiling-identifies-a-subset-of-hiv-elite",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-13T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.06.749753v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Background: People with HIV who suppress the virus without antiretroviral therapy are known as elite controllers. A subset of these, called exceptional elite controllers, have extremely small viral reservoirs. Researchers analyzed plasma proteins in exceptional elite controllers, ART-suppressed non-controllers, and people without HIV to identify inflammatory profiles. Hierarchical clustering found ECs whose profiles resembled people without HIV, but these ECs were rare in ART-suppressed non-controllers. A distinct subset of ECs showed reduced levels of certain proteins associated with inflammation, such as IL-1β, SCRN1, and BID, and had higher frequencies of protective HLA alleles. Machine-learning analysis showed that these ECs had lower intestinal-associated proteins, higher CD4 counts, and lower pro-inflammatory cytokines. These findings suggest that identifying this low-inflammatory subset of elite controllers may help understand exceptional HIV control and develop strategies for long-term HIV remission.",
  "summary": "Background: Elite controllers (ECs) are people with HIV (PWH) who suppress viral replication without antiretroviral therapy (ART). A subset, often termed exceptional elite controllers (EECs), harbor very small viral reservoirs, with few intact proviruses integrated into inactive chromosomal regions. Defining inflammatory signatures in ECs may clarify whether some approach a functionally cured…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}