Bernard Macatangay

Immunoregulatory mechanisms can influence many aspects of the body's immune responses to different antigens, and can control inflammatory responses thereby preventing pathology caused by persistent immune activation and inflammation. The Macatangay laboratory focuses on various immunoregulatory pathways in different inflammatory states, especially in HIV infection. Specifically, the lab aims to define the role of different immunoregulatory mechanisms in: (i) the inflammatory state associated with chronic HIV infection; (ii) HIV persistence; (iii) various HIV immunotherapeutic strategies, such as in therapeutic vaccination. By using specimens obtained from the various studies at the Pittsburgh Treatment and Evaluation Unit (PTEU), the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), and the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS), we assess the immunophenotype and frequencies of regulatory immune cell subsets as well as analyze specific suppressive function and components of regulatory pathways in order to further understand the influence of specific immunoregulatory mechanisms in HIV pathogenesis and persistence. In doing so, we aim to improve existing or develop new immunotherapeutic strategies for the control of chronic HIV-associated inflammation and/or for the functional cure of HIV.