Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Feb 14, 2026 2 hours, 26 minutes ago
Medical News: Tiny Viruses That Mirror the Immune System
A new scientific review has shed light on a group of little-known viruses that quietly live inside almost every human being. These viruses, called anelloviruses, may actually serve as powerful indicators of how strong or weak a person’s immune system is—especially in individuals living with HIV.
The study, led by researchers from the Federal Research Center of Fundamental and Translational Medicine and the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology ‘Vector’, explores how these viruses behave during HIV infection and treatment.
Anelloviruses are not known to cause disease on their own. Instead, they exist quietly in the body, forming what scientists call an “anellome”—a personal collection of these viruses unique to each individual. This
Medical News report highlights how changes in this viral community can reflect the immune system’s condition.
What Happens During HIV Infection
HIV primarily attacks CD4+ T cells, which are critical for immune defense. As these cells decline, the immune system weakens. The review explains that when HIV infection is untreated, levels of anelloviruses—especially a type known as Torque teno virus (TTV)—rise dramatically in the blood.
Researchers found that higher TTV levels strongly correlate with higher HIV viral loads and lower CD4+ T-cell counts. In simple terms, the weaker the immune system becomes, the more these tiny viruses multiply. Their increase is so consistent that scientists believe measuring anellovirus levels could offer a sensitive way to track immune decline.
The Impact of Antiretroviral Therapy
When patients begin antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV levels drop and CD4+ counts usually improve. The review shows that anellovirus levels also decrease after ART begins. However, they often do not return to the levels seen before HIV infection.
Interestingly, patients who start treatment with very high TTV levels may experience incomplete immune recovery, even if HIV becomes undetectable. This suggests that measuring anellovirus load before and during therapy could help identify individuals at risk of poor immune restoration.
How These Viruses Interact with Immunity
The review explains that anelloviruses have a complex relationship with the immune system. On one hand, they can activate immune pathways, triggering inflammatory responses. On the other, they produce proteins that can dampen inflammation by interfering with key signaling pathways like NF-κB.
This dual behavior means anelloviruses are not just passive markers. They may actively influence immune balance, especially in the chronically inflamed environment seen in HIV infection.
The researchers emphasize that monitoring both the amount and diversity of anelloviruses could provide a non-invasive way to assess immune competence. Since these viruses are present in nearly everyone, they offer a universal biological indicator that could complement traditional tests like CD4 counts and HIV viral load measurements.
A New Tool for Personalized HIV Care
The review concludes that anello
viruses represent a promising biomarker for understanding immune health in people living with HIV. Their levels rise when immune control weakens and fall when immune function improves, making them sensitive indicators of immune dynamics. Although more research is needed to translate these findings into routine clinical practice, monitoring the “anellome” could one day help doctors better predict treatment outcomes, personalize therapy, and detect hidden immune dysfunction even when standard laboratory tests appear normal.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Viruses.
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/18/2/235
For the latest HIV research, keep on logging to Thailand
Medical News.
Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/hiv-aids
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/immunology
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