Pfizer公司(New York, NY, USA)和Monogram生物科學(xué)公司(South San Francisco, CA, USA)已經(jīng)宣布了 一項(xiàng)非排他性合作項(xiàng)目，將Monogram公司的HIV共同受體趨化性檢測(cè)在全球范圍內(nèi)推廣。該檢測(cè)是一項(xiàng)診斷工具，顯示趨向性，這是病毒進(jìn)入人CD4細(xì)胞的途徑。

CD4或者T細(xì)胞是一種能夠保護(hù)機(jī)體免于感染的特定免疫細(xì)胞。HIV攻擊這些類(lèi)型的細(xì)胞，并利用它們復(fù)制更多拷貝的HIV。在此過(guò)程中CD4細(xì)胞不能發(fā)揮保護(hù)機(jī)體的正常功能。開(kāi)始的時(shí)候機(jī)體能夠制造更多T細(xì)胞，但是最終有功能的T細(xì)胞數(shù)量銳減。這就削弱了免疫系統(tǒng)，導(dǎo)致機(jī)體面臨各種感染的危險(xiǎn)。

趨化性信息能夠幫助鑒別最有可能對(duì)CCR5拮抗劑產(chǎn)生反應(yīng)的患者。這是一組被設(shè)計(jì)用于阻斷病毒通過(guò)CCR5共同受體進(jìn)入體內(nèi)的藥物。研究顯示80-85%剛診斷為HIV以及既往沒(méi)有接受HIV治療的患者，絕大多數(shù)是 therapy have the dominant CCR5趨向性病毒。在以前接受過(guò)抗逆轉(zhuǎn)錄藥物治療的患者中下降為50-60%。

Pfizer and Monogram Collaborate on HIV Tropism Assay
 
Pfizer Inc. (New York, NY, USA) and Monogram Biosciences (South San Francisco, CA, USA) have announced a non-exclusive collaboration to make Monogram’s HIV co-receptor tropism assay available for use on a global basis. The assay is a diagnostic tool to show tropism, the path taken by the virus to access human CD4 cells.

CD4 or T-cells are specialized immune cells that help protect the body from infection. HIV attacks these types of cells and uses them to make more copies of HIV. In doing so, the CD4 cell becomes unable to do its job of protecting the body. At first, the body can make more T-cells but eventually the number of working T-cells decreases. This weakens the immune system and leaves the body at risk for different types of infections.

Tropism information helps identify patients most likely to respond to CCR5 antagonists. These are a class of drugs designed to block viral entry through the CCR5 co-receptor. Studies have shown that 80-85% of patients newly diagnosed with HIV and previously untreated with HIV therapy have the dominant CCR5-tropic virus. This drops to 50-60% in patients who have been treated before with anti-retroviral medicines.