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Experimental systems for studying Plasmodium/HIV coinfection
Author(s) -
Frischknecht Friedrich,
Fackler Oliver T.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1002/1873-3468.12151
Subject(s) - coinfection , malaria , comorbidity , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , virology , biology , plasmodium falciparum , plasmodium (life cycle) , immunology , medicine , parasite hosting , pathology , computer science , world wide web
Coinfections with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Plasmodium, the causative agents of AIDS and malaria, respectively, are frequent and their comorbidity especially in sub‐Saharan Africa is high. While clinical studies suggest an influence of the two pathogens on the outcome of the respective infections, experimental studies on the molecular and immunological impact of coinfections are rare. This reflects the limited availability of suitable model systems that reproduce key properties of both pathologies. Here, we discuss key aspects of coinfection with a focus on currently established experimental systems, their limitations for coinfection studies and potential strategies for their improvement.