Marcus Altfeld

Partners AIDS Research Center
Massachusetts General Hospital
Bldg. 149, 13th Street, 6th floor
Charlestown, MA 02129
Tel: 617-724-2461
Fax: 617-724-8586
e-mail: maltfeld@partners.org
2 junior faculty, 4 post-docs, 1 Graduate Student, 1 Undergraduate Student

The Altfeld laboratory studies innate and adaptive immune responses in HIV-1 infection

The laboratory has four major areas of interest: a) The analysis of HIV-1-specific CD8+ T cell responses in Acute HIV-1 Infection, with particular focus on the mechanisms that determine the functionality and immunodominance of HIV-1-specific CD8+ T cell responses during the initial phase of HIV-1 infection. b) The analysis of Innate Immune Responses in HIV-1 infection, specifically focusing on the role of NK cells in HIV-1 infection and the impact of Toll-like Receptor (TLR) ligands on the function of NK and T cells. c) Thirdly, we are involved in monitoring changes in the HIV-1-specific T cell response in HIV-1-infected individuals undergoing therapeutic immunizations to understand the immune correlates of viral control. d) Finally, we are interested in characterizing the HIV-1 specific immune responses in populations of different ethnicities affected by the HIV-1 epidemic, and have close collaboration with the HIV-1 Pathogenesis Program at the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, the National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention (NCAIDS) at the Chinese CDC in Beijing, and the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Tangdu Hospital in Xi’an, China.

Papers & Publications

Lichterfeld M, Kaufmann DE, Yu XG, Mui SK, Addo MM, Johnston MN, Cohen D, Robbins GK, Pae E, Alter G, Wurcel A, Stone D, Rosenberg ES, Walker BD, Altfeld M. Loss of HIV-1-specific CD8+ T cell proliferation after acute HIV-1 infection and restoration by vaccine-induced HIV-1-specific CD4+ T cells. J Exp Med. 2004 Sep 20;200(6):701-12.

Alter G, Teigen N, Davis BT, Addo MM, Suscovich TJ, Waring MT, Streeck H, Johnston MN, Staller KD, Zaman MT, Yu XG, Lichterfeld M, Basgoz N, Rosenberg ES, Altfeld M. Sequential deregulation of NK cell subset distribution and function starting in acute HIV-1 infection. Blood. 2005 Nov 15;106(10):3366-9.

Altfeld M, Goulder P. 'Unleashed' natural killers hinder HIV. Nat Genet. 2007 Jun;39(6):708-10.

Alter G, Martin MP, Teigen N, Carr WH, Suscovich TJ, Schneidewind A, Streeck H, Waring M, Meier A, Brander C, Lifson JD, Allen TM, Carrington M, Altfeld M. Differential natural killer cell-mediated inhibition of HIV-1 replication based on distinct KIR/HLA subtypes. J Exp Med. 2007 Nov 26;204(12):3027-36.

Streeck H, Brumme ZL, Anastario M, Cohen KW, Jolin JS, Meier A, Brumme CJ, Rosenberg ES, Alter G, Allen TM, Walker BD, Altfeld M.