Immunobiology

Breastfeeding has known benefits for both mother and child, reducing maternal risk of breast and ovarian cancers, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure while simultaneously supporting the baby’s nutrition and immune system. But because pregnancy and lactation have been historically understudied, we still don’t understand the science behind many of these benefits.

Salk immunologist Deepshika Ramanan, PhD, graduate student Abigail Jaquish, and colleagues are changing that. In their latest study, they mapped the migration of maternal immune cells before and during lactation. Using both animal research and human milk and tissue samples, the researchers discovered that immune cells called T cells become abundant in the mammary glands during pregnancy and breastfeeding, with some relocating from the gut. The scientists are now studying how this immune cell migration supports maternal and infant health. Their continued findings may help explain the benefits of breastfeeding, prompt new solutions for mothers unable to breastfeed, and inform dietary decisions that enhance breast milk production and quality.

Around 40 million people live with HIV-1, and the rate of infection continues to climb. While symptoms can now be better managed with lifelong treatment, there is no cure to fully eliminate the virus from the body, so patients still often struggle with related health issues, side effects, social stigma, and drug resistance.

One of the most promising treatment avenues is disrupting HIV replication by impairing the function of integrase, a protein named for its role in integrating viral genetic material into the human host genome. However, scientists have recently noticed that integrase does more than just integration. Later in HIV’s replication cycle, integrase interacts with viral RNA to help the virus spread and infect new cells. Taking on these two distinct roles—first with DNA, then RNA—requires changes to integrase’s protein structure. Salk scientist Dmitry Lyumkis, PhD, postdoctoral researchers Tao Jing, PhD, and Zelin Shan, PhD, and colleagues have now captured these important structural changes for the first time, creating novel 3D models of integrase in both roles. Now, scientists can connect the dots between integrase’s form and function to begin developing compounds that impair its distinct functions and, in turn, better treat people living with HIV.