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在全球超過四千萬名一型人類免疫力缺乏病毒（HIV-1）感染者中，潛伏在免疫細胞中的病毒難以被完全清除，一直是治療上的最大挑戰。香港大學李嘉誠醫學院（港大醫學院）的研究團隊最近發現，一種特定基因蛋白轉錄因子「BRD9」可成為破解潛伏機制的關鍵，讓愛滋病可能不再是無法治癒的絕症。該研究已發表於科學期刊《美國國家科學院院刊》（PNAS）（按此瀏覽期刊文章）。愛滋病（AIDS）是由HIV引起的疾病，其中HIV-1是最常見且變異性最高的類型。儘管過去40多年來，科學家們在治療方面取得了顯著進展，但徹底根治愛滋病仍然是一個未解難題。港大愛滋病研究所免疫學與臨床醫學學院微生物學系免疫治療講座教授兼孫志新基金教授（臨床醫學）陳志偉教授解釋：「潛伏於免疫細胞中的HIV-1病毒無法被完全清除，一直是根治愛滋病的最大關鍵，導致許多感染者即使在接受抗逆轉錄病毒治療（ART）後仍然無法康復。」陳志偉教授續稱：「我們通過篩選280種表觀遺傳化合物，首次確定了BRD9蛋白為在激活潛伏HIV-1病毒的關鍵角色。BRD9不僅能調控病毒基因的表達，還能與HIV-1中的Tat蛋白競爭，影響病毒的激活狀態。這一發現為『先激活後殺滅』（Shock & Kill）策略提供了新的思路。」研究團隊發現，BRD9抑制劑與其他潛伏逆轉劑（LRA）藥物的聯合使用，能顯著提高潛伏病毒的激活效果。陳志偉教授補充：「我們的研究不僅深化對HIV-1長期潛伏機制的科學認知和全新視角，也為開發更具針對性的潛伏逆轉策略奠定了基礎，顯示出未來可望透過精準、針對性組合療法，有效激活並殺滅潛伏在免疫細胞中的病毒，從而提高治療的成功率，有望為全球數千萬名HIV感染者帶來希望。」關於研究團隊這項研究由港大醫學院臨床醫學學院微生物學系副教授暨何耀棣傑出青年教授朱軒教授，以及同學系的港大愛滋病研究所免疫學與免疫治療講座教授兼孫志新基金教授（臨床醫學）陳志偉教授共同領導。研究由港大愛滋病研究所前博士研究生陸子逸博士主導，並獲多名港大醫學院團隊成員協助，包括來自同一學系的袁國勇教授及陳福和教授。 背景儘管經過超過40年的研究，愛滋病至今仍屬難以治癒的疾病，其主要病原體是HIV，其中以HIV-1變異性最高，亦是全球最普遍且傳播力最強的病毒類型。要完全治癒HIV-1感染的最大障礙，在於病毒潛伏細胞（latency reservoirs）持續存在於宿主體內靜止記憶型CD4+ T免疫細胞群中。由於這類受感染細胞的基因複製率低、壽命長且具備擴增能力，難以被徹底清除。此外，潛伏感染細胞所產生的病毒量極低，使潛伏感染細胞能躲避免疫系統中細胞毒性T細胞、巨噬細胞及其他免疫監控機制識別與攻擊。「先激活後殺滅」策略是一種結合LRA 與「抗逆轉錄病毒治療（Antiretroviral Therapy，ART）」的HIV-1療法。LRA的作用是刺激潛伏的HIV-1感染細胞產生病毒，而ART則干擾病毒複製過程，防止其擴散。現有LRA藥物透過調控不同表觀遺傳機制及細胞訊號途徑來重新激活潛伏的HIV-1，但仍無法完全激活所有HIV-1潛伏病毒。臨床試驗發現，即使接受ART治療，感染者體內仍可檢測到具複製能力的HIV-1感染細胞，顯示仍有關鍵的潛伏調控因子尚未被發現。因此，探索調控HIV-1潛伏狀態的宿主因子，並釐清其下游細胞的訊號途徑，對於開發「徹底激活、徹底消滅」病毒的新型LRA療法至關重要。研究方法及結果為尋找新的藥物靶點，港大醫學院研究團隊從表觀遺傳化合物庫中篩選出280種候選物質，評估其對HIV-1感染T細胞中重新激活潛伏病毒的能力。結果顯示，針對BRD9蛋白的特異性抑制劑I-BRD9獲優先列為新型HIV-1潛伏逆轉劑。研究團隊證實，I-BRD9及BRD9降解劑能顯著重新激活潛伏在受感染的T細胞內的HIV-1病毒，包括從正在接受ART的 HIV -1感染者身上提取的外周血單個核細胞（PBMC）。此外，團隊亦發現同時抑制BRD9與BRD4蛋白具有強效協同效應，由於BRD4蛋白已被證實能抑制HIV-1表達，而其抑制劑JQ-1亦被證實為有效的HIV-1 LRA，所以團隊這次發現BRD9抑制劑與JQ-1聯用，可進一步提升潛伏病毒的激活效果。在機制方面，研究團隊揭示BRD9蛋白與HIV-1中的Tat蛋白會爭奪啟動同一個HIV-1病毒基因的「開關」掣（稱為LTR啟動子區域）。這個區域是病毒啟動基因表達的關鍵位置，影響病毒是否進入激活狀態。為更深入了解BRD9蛋白的作用，研究人員運用CUT&RUN DNA基因測序及轉錄組分析，進一步鎖定BRD9的下游細胞靶點，包括ATAD2與MTHFD2基因，對於調控HIV-1潛伏狀態扮演重要角色。   https://www.med.hku.hk/zh-hk/news/press/20250611-hkumed-discovers-key-protein-that-enables-shock-and-kill-strategy

The Endowed Professorships at the University of Hong Kong, established for 20 years, have become a prestigious honor awarded to scholars within the university. The number of professorships has increased from an initial 8 to over 120 today, with the Faculty of Medicine receiving more than half of the positions. This reflects the strong support of donors for higher education and academic research. Starting last year, HKU introduced the "Outstanding Young Professorships" to be awarded to Assistant Professors or Associate Professors, demonstrating the university's commitment to nurturing future academic leaders. We are deeply grateful for the support of our donors, and as a token of our appreciation, we have established the "Endowed Professors Honour Roll" in the Faculty of Medicine building to honor the professors who have received this distinction and to express our gratitude to the donors.     Prof Chen is awarded Suen Chi-Sun Professorship in Clinical Science at October 2024.

The Department of Health (DH) and Hong Kong Advisory Council on AIDS (ACA) today (November 30) jointly held the World AIDS Campaign 2024 Kick-off Ceremony to raise public awareness of the prevention of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection. The DH also announced the launch of the inaugural HIV Testing Month in Hong Kong, encouraging people who have had sex to undergo HIV testing at least once to keep track of their own health status. People with HIV should seek specialist care and HIV treatment as soon as possible for viral suppression and for health restoration.           The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated December 1 (i.e. tomorrow) each year as World AIDS Day, and today's event was organised in response to this observance. Under the theme "Advances with Love, 40 Years of United Actions & Beyond", the ceremony reflected on the past and future joint efforts between the Government, healthcare sector and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to combat AIDS and care for patients and their families through a multipronged approach and strategic collaboration since the first case of HIV infection was reported in Hong Kong in 1984.           Officiating at the ceremony, the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, said, "The prevalence of HIV infection in Hong Kong remains well below the global average, accounting for 1 in 1 000 of the adult population. The number of new cases in recent years has continued to drop from the peak in 2015, which is encouraging. However, we must not be complacent, as the proportion of late presenters in Hong Kong has been on the rise in recent years, and the number of newly infected persons aged 50 or above has not dropped in tandem with the overall number of newly infected persons. Furthermore, various challenges such as stigma and discrimination still exist."           In view of this, the Red Ribbon Centre of the DH, in collaboration with 12 NGOs and 10 supporting organisations, is launching the inaugural HIV Testing Month in Hong Kong in December (i.e. from tomorrow onwards), with a view to increasing the public's awareness of HIV testing in Hong Kong, as well as helping the public understand how to get tested for HIV easily and conveniently through a variety of channels.           The Scientific Committee on AIDS and STI has earlier issued its recommendation that people who have had sex should get HIV testing at least once.     Dr Lam said, "The launch of HIV Testing Month aims to promote the normalisation of HIV testing. Members of the public can browse the HIV Testing Service website (www.hivtest.gov.hk) or access the HIV testing calendar on the HIV Testing Service website via the '@DH mobile application' to learn more about and select testing resources in the community."     The Government will launch a new Announcement of Public Interest (API) under the slogan "For your health, get tested for HIV" to appeal to people who have had sex to get tested for HIV at least once, so that those who are unaware of their infection status can receive timely diagnosis and treatment. Normalising HIV testing will also help remove the negative stigma associated with HIV infection and testing.     　     The ceremony was attended by around 100 stakeholders who have been involved in the fight against AIDS since the 1980s. More Information

An Endowed Professorship is one of the most significant awards bestowed upon eminent academics within the University in support of their academic and research activities.Prof Chen is awarded Suen Chi-Sun Professorship in Clinical Science at October 2024.     More Information

Clarivate has named a record-breaking 32 researchers from HKUMed as ‘Highly Cited Researchers 2024’ today (19 November 2024). This accolade further affirms our steadfast commitment to innovation and excellence in medical and health research. Hong Kong has proudly secured its position as the 8th highest-ranking region globally, with 134 researchers recognised as Highly Cited Researchers (HCRs). Among them, 55 are HKU scholars, and HKUMed accounts for 58.2% of the HKU total (32 out of 55) and 23.9% of the Hong Kong total (32 out of 134), respectively. This research accolades highlighted HKUMed’s significant role in contributing to the city’s ascent into the global Top 10 and is yet another example of our global academic excellence and research prowess. Record number of HKUMed scientists named Highly Cited Researchers 2024 by Clarivate In economics, GDP per capita is an important indicator of economic prosperity. In the context of research impact, the number of HCRs per capita provides a likewise metric for global scientific and technological progress. In this regard, Hong Kong leads the world with the highest number of HCRs per capita, boasting an impressive 18.4 HCRs per one million population. As a major driver to this success, HKUMed ranked 8th globally, surpassing major countries / regions like Germany and France.[i] This underscores the extraordinary concentration of top researchers and eminent scientists among us in the Medical Faculty. I extend my heartfelt commendation to our scholars and researchers for their unwavering dedication and hard work! At the same time, members may have observed a proliferation of university rankings, with each ranking system emphasising different criteria and catering to diverse perspectives and purposes. For instance, the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) released most recently by Shanghai Ranking evaluates universities worldwide by subjects using a unique methodology. The six subjects applicable to HKUMed included Human Biological Sciences, Clinical Medicine, Public Health, Nursing, Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences and Medical Technology. Interestingly, HKUMed ranks 15th in the Public Health subject and >100 in Clinical Medicine. This stands in stark contrast with some university ranking systems which use more comprehensive metrics such as Times Higher Education (Clinical & Health) and QS World University Rankings (Life Sciences & Medicine), which respectively ranked HKUMed as 19th and 31st in the world in 2024 and consistently amongst the top medical schools worldwide years after years. It is therefore crucial to interpret such multi-faceted ranking results with a discerning eye. I will provide more details on the relevant rankings at the upcoming Dean & Heads Advisory Committee and Faculty Board meetings. HKUMed’s recent achievements, including our leadership roles in The Hong Kong Jockey Club Global Health Institute and the Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute, as well as our membership in the World Health Summit Academic Alliance, have strategically positioned us to tackle new and emerging challenges. These successes not only advance Hong Kong’s health agenda but also allow us to make a substantial impact on global health.

Dr. Erasmus Morah and his delegation from UNAIDS, China on last Friday (15th November 2024). Organized on short notice, this visit was a testament to the agility and efficiency of our team and provided a significant platform to align with global health initiatives.   Overview and Background The primary purpose of this Courtesy Call was to discuss two new Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) signed with China in 2024, marking a pivotal step in our collaborative efforts. This meeting underscored our strategic positioning and commitment in the global fight against HIV/AIDS, highlighting the vital role we play in these international partnerships.   Luncheon Discussion The discussions began with a luncheon hosted by Dr. Leong and attended by our esteemed Board Member Prof. Chen Zhiwei. During this session, Dr. Morah presented the new MOUs and outlined UNAIDS's strategic plans moving forward. We took this opportunity to share our Fundation’s mission and vision, showcasing how our objectives support and enhance the goals set forth in the MOUs. The dialogue was both engaging and enlightening, setting a collaborative tone for the remainder of the visit.     Visit of the Shau Kei Wan Headquarters Following the luncheon, Dr. Wilson Lam led a detailed visit of our Shau Kei Wan headquarters. He led our team to present an overview of the Foundation's operations, emphasizing our efforts to expand global and national partnerships. Dr. Lam highlighted specific projects and initiatives that demonstrate our Foundation's significant impact within the community and our extensive network collaborations, especially with Mainland China. Key Highlights Volunteer Leadership Sharing Session: A highlight of the visit was the session where Dr. Morah met with our volunteer leaders. This meeting was not only a forum for our volunteers to showcase their passion and commitment but also allowed them to receive strategic guidance from Dr. Morah. The exchange provided valuable insights into enhancing our advocacy and outreach efforts, which are crucial for our ongoing success.   Patient Group Activity: Dr. Morah also took part in an engaging activity with our PLHIV members, where they created traditional artwork from red pocket envelopes. This session provided Dr. Morah with a direct opportunity to connect with our members and understand their overall situations and specific needs. It also showcased how the "95-95-95" UNAIDS targets could potentially be implemented within Hong Kong. The activity emphasized our innovative approach to integrating cultural heritage into our support programmes, which left a lasting impression on the delegation.   Presentation of Souvenirs and Group Photos The visit concluded with the presentation of handmade souvenirs, crafted from red pocket envelopes, symbolizing eternal friendship and well-wishes for health and prosperity. We captured these moments of shared commitment with a group photo, creating lasting memories of our collaboration.     Feedback from UNAIDS The feedback from the UNAIDS delegation was exceptionally positive. Dr. Morah expressed gratitude for our thorough organization and the depth of interactions during the visit. Their appreciation was further highlighted in a post on their official social media platform, X. This recognition can be viewed here: UNAIDS Post on X     Acknowledgments Our thanks go to Dr. Leong for his guidance during the visit, to Prof. Chen Zhiwei for his invaluable contributions at the luncheon, and to Dr. Wilson Lam for his exemplary leadership and flexibility in adjusting his work schedule. Their efforts were crucial to the success of this important event.   Conclusion This visit has not only reinforced our international relationships but has also invigorated our team, affirming our Foundational role in the global health landscape. We eagerly anticipate building on this momentum to further our mission.