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Research Interests:
Dr. Rinaldo is interested in the area of AIDS and herpes virus research. He is the principal investigator of a large study of the natural history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in homosexual men in Pittsburgh, which is part of the national Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. His research has shown that HIV-infected persons who are asymptomatic, long-term survivors have cytotoxic T lymphocytes that are less detectable in progressors. Moreover, CD8+ T cell responses to HIV are only temporarily enhanced during treatment with combination antiretroviral drugs.
A second area of study is the role of dendritic cells in the immunopathogenesis of HIV infection. Infection of these cells with HIV may be central to the progression of HIV infection and development of AIDS. These cells are being purified and characterized for their antigen-presenting functions in primary and secondary CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses to HIV, including clinical trials of immunotherapy of HIV infection.
A third area of interest is in T cell responses to a new herpesvirus that is the etiologic agent of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), termed Kaposi's sarcoma associated herpesvirus or human herpesvirus type 8 (HHV-8). Dr Rinaldo's laboratory has shown that CD8+ T cells respond to HHV-8 during primary HHV8 infection. Current work is determining the interactions of HHV-8 with dendritic cells during T cell activation.
Dr. Rinaldo's clinical research laboratory is involved in several studies on new diagnostic approaches in clinical virology, and on antiviral drug resistance of cytomegalovirus infection in organ transplant recipients.
Dr. Rinaldo also serves as Chair of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology in the University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health. He is a member of the NIH AIDS and Related Research 2 study section, and is an associate editor of the Journal of Immunology and Journal of Virology.
Selected Publications:
View Dr. Rinaldo's publications on PubMed.
Majumder B, Janket ML, Schafer EA, Schaubert K, Huang XL, Kan-Mitchell J, Rinaldo CR Jr, Ayyavoo V. Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Vpr impairs dendritic cell maturation and T-cell activation: implications for viral immune escape. J Virol. 2005 Jul;79(13):7990-8003.
Hoji A, Rinaldo CR Jr. Human CD8+ T cells specific for influenza A virus M1 display broad expression of maturation-associated phenotypic markers and chemokine receptors. Immunology. 2005 Jun;115(2):239-45.
Rinaldo CR Jr. Passive immunization against poliomyelitis: the Hammon gamma globulin field trials, 1951-1953. Am J Public Health. 2005 May;95(5):790-9.
Rinaldo CR. Passive Immunization Against Poliomyelitis: The Hammon Gamma Globulin Field Trials, 1951-1953. Am J Public Health. 2005 Apr 26; [Epub ahead of print]
Huang XL, Fan Z, Colleton BA, Buchli R, Li H, Hildebrand WH, Rinaldo CR Jr. Processing and presentation of exogenous HLA class I peptides by dendritic cells from human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected persons. J Virol. 2005 Mar;79(5):3052-62.
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