Virology Core

The Einstein-Montefiore CFAR Virology supplies technical expertise, infrastructure and advanced instrumentation to enable Einstein investigators to access a wide array of cellular and molecular virological approaches to provide optimal study design and technical support to accomplish their research goals.

 

Core Mission

• To provide the infrastructure, reagents, assays and technologies to enable basic and translational researchers to investigate HIV infection, pathogenesis and therapy.
• To perform cellular and molecular assays characterizing HIV-infection to support clinical and translational investigators engaged in patient-based studies of HIV/AIDS patients.
• To provide training to investigators in a wide range of cellular and molecular assays used in the study of HIV pathogenesis.

Core Facilities

• A fully equipped and supported biohazard facility 
• Applied Biosystems 7900 RT PCR machine 
• A multi-well micro plate reader 
• Olympus florescent microscope for BLAM assays

Core Services

• Patient sample processing and storage for studies of HIV-infected individuals 
• Measurement of plasma HIV-1 RNA levels by commercial and lab-developed assays.
• Measurement of serum HCV antibody and plasma HCV virus levels. 
• Provider of titered primary HIV isolates, engineered HIV (including luciferase and GFP), constructs and proteins. 
• Quantification of HIV-1 neutralization activity in serum. 
• Performance of molecular biological techniques to study HIV fusion, entry and infection. 

Core Training Programs

• Orientation to biohazard culture techniques in the BSL3/Virology Core. 
• Measurement of RNA levels by real time qPCR
• Co-culture and expansion of HIV-1 from PBMCs. 
• High yield separation of infected cellular populations using the autoMACS
• Performance of HIV-1 fusion assays using luciferase reporter pseudotyped HIV-1.

Charge Back Fees

• HIV-1 co-culture: $200
• PBMC separation and cell freezing in liquid nitrogen: $50;
• HIV DNA/RNA PCR: $100
• HIV p24 Ag measurements: $2
• HIV viral load by bDNA assay: $75
• HIV viral load by RT-qPCR: $20
• HIV-1 titered viral isolate or HIV-1 reporter isolate: $10/aliqout.

Recent Core Publications

Berg KM, Litwin AH, Li X, Heo M, Arnsten JH. *Lack of sustained improvement in adherence or viral load following a directly observed antiretroviral therapy intervention. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2011;53:936-43. PMCID: PMC3189166.

Buckner CM, Calderon TM, Willams DW, Belbin TJ, Berman JW. Characterization of monocyte maturation/differentiation that facilitates their transmigration across the blood-brain barrier and infection by HIV: implications for NeuroAIDS. Cell Immunol. 2011;267:109-23. PMID: 21292246.

Cosenza-Nashat MA, Bauman A, Zhao ML, Morgello S, Suh HS, Lee SC. Cannabinoid receptor expression in HIV encephalitis and HIV-associated neuropathologic comorbidities. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol. 2011. PMID: 21450051.

Cunningham CO, Sohler NL, Cooperman NA, Berg KM, Litwin AH, Arnsten JH. Strategies to improve access to and utilization of health care services and adherence to antiretroviral therapy among HIV-infected drug users. Subst Use Misuse. 2011;46:218-32. PMID: 21303242.

Eugenin EA, Clements JE, Zink MC, Berman JW. Human immunodeficiency virus infection of human astrocytes disrupts blood-brain barrier integrity by a gap junction-dependent mechanism. J Neurosci. 2011;31:9456-65. PMCID: PMC3132881.

Nahvi S, Litwin AH, Heo M, Berg KM, Li X, Arnsten JH. Directly observed antiretroviral therapy eliminates adverse effects of active drug use on adherence. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2011. PubMed PMID: 21885212.

Polsky S, Floris-Moore M, Schoenbaum EE, Klein RS, Arnsten JH, Howard AA. Incident hyperglycaemia among older adults with or at-risk for HIV infection. Antivir Ther. 2011;16:181-8. PMID: 21447867.

Brust JC, Litwin AH, Berg KM, Li X, Heo M, Arnsten JH. Directly observed antiretroviral therapy in substance abusers receiving methadone maintenance therapy does not cause increased drug resistance AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2010. PMID: 20854173.