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Kobayashi-Ishihara M, Tsunetsugu-Yokota Y. Post-Transcriptional HIV-1 Latency: A Promising Target for Therapy? Viruses 2024; 16:666. [PMID: 38793548 PMCID: PMC11125802 DOI: 10.3390/v16050666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2024] [Revised: 04/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1) latency represents a significant hurdle in finding a cure for HIV-1 infections, despite tireless research efforts. This challenge is partly attributed to the intricate nature of HIV-1 latency, wherein various host and viral factors participate in multiple physiological processes. While substantial progress has been made in discovering therapeutic targets for HIV-1 transcription, targets for the post-transcriptional regulation of HIV-1 infections have received less attention. However, cumulative evidence now suggests the pivotal contribution of post-transcriptional regulation to the viral latency in both in vitro models and infected individuals. In this review, we explore recent insights on post-transcriptional latency in HIV-1 and discuss the potential of its therapeutic targets, illustrating some host factors that restrict HIV-1 at the post-transcriptional level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mie Kobayashi-Ishihara
- Department of Molecular Biology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
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2
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Mironov IV, Khristichenko MY, Nechepurenko YM, Grebennikov DS, Bocharov GA. Bifurcation analysis of multistability and hysteresis in a model of HIV infection. Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genet Selektsii 2023; 27:755-767. [PMID: 38213700 PMCID: PMC10777289 DOI: 10.18699/vjgb-23-88] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The infectious disease caused by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) remains a serious threat to hu- man health. The current approach to HIV-1 treatment is based on the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy, which has side effects and is costly. For clinical practice, it is highly important to create functional cures that can enhance immune control of viral growth and infection of target cells with a subsequent reduction in viral load and restoration of the immune status. HIV-1 control efforts with reliance on immunotherapy remain at a conceptual stage due to the complexity of a set of processes that regulate the dynamics of infection and immune response. For this reason, it is extremely important to use methods of mathematical modeling of HIV-1 infection dynamics for theoretical analysis of possibilities of reducing the viral load by affecting the immune system without the usage of antiviral therapy. The aim of our study is to examine the existence of bi-, multistability and hysteresis properties with a meaningful mathematical model of HIV-1 infection. The model describes the most important blocks of the processes of interaction between viruses and the human body, namely, the spread of infection in productively and latently infected cells, the appearance of viral mutants and the develop- ment of the T cell immune response. Furthermore, our analysis aims to study the possibilities of transferring the clinical pattern of the disease from a more severe state to a milder one. We analyze numerically the conditions for the existence of steady states of the mathematical model of HIV-1 infection for the numerical values of model parameters correspond- ing to phenotypically different variants of the infectious disease course. To this end, original computational methods of bifurcation analysis of mathematical models formulated with systems of ordinary differential equations and delay differ- ential equations are used. The macrophage activation rate constant is considered as a bifurcation parameter. The regions in the model parameter space, in particular, for the rate of activation of innate immune cells (macrophages), in which the properties of bi-, multistability and hysteresis are expressed, have been identified, and the features characterizing transi- tion kinetics between stable equilibrium states have been explored. Overall, the results of bifurcation analysis of the HIV-1 infection model form a theoretical basis for the development of combination immune-based therapeutic approaches to HIV-1 treatment. In particular, the results of the study of the HIV-1 infection model for parameter sets corresponding to different phenotypes of disease dynamics (typical, long-term non-progressing and rapidly progressing courses) indicate that an effective functional treatment (cure) of HIV-1-infected patients requires the development of a personalized ap- proach that takes into account both the properties of the HIV-1 quasispecies population and the patient's immune status.
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Affiliation(s)
- I V Mironov
- Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia
| | - M Yu Khristichenko
- Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia Marchuk Institute of Numerical Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Yu M Nechepurenko
- Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia Marchuk Institute of Numerical Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - D S Grebennikov
- Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia Marchuk Institute of Numerical Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - G A Bocharov
- Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia Marchuk Institute of Numerical Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
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3
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Reeves DB, Bacchus-Souffan C, Fitch M, Abdel-Mohsen M, Hoh R, Ahn H, Stone M, Hecht F, Martin J, Deeks SG, Hellerstein MK, McCune JM, Schiffer JT, Hunt PW. Estimating the contribution of CD4 T cell subset proliferation and differentiation to HIV persistence. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6145. [PMID: 37783718 PMCID: PMC10545742 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41521-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Persistence of HIV in people living with HIV (PWH) on suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been linked to physiological mechanisms of CD4+ T cells. Here, in the same 37 male PWH on ART we measure longitudinal kinetics of HIV DNA and cell turnover rates in five CD4 cell subsets: naïve (TN), stem-cell- (TSCM), central- (TCM), transitional- (TTM), and effector-memory (TEM). HIV decreases in TTM and TEM but not in less-differentiated subsets. Cell turnover is ~10 times faster than HIV clearance in memory subsets, implying that cellular proliferation consistently creates HIV DNA. The optimal mathematical model for these integrated data sets posits HIV DNA also passages between CD4 cell subsets via cellular differentiation. Estimates are heterogeneous, but in an average participant's year ~10 (in TN and TSCM) and ~104 (in TCM, TTM, TEM) proviruses are generated by proliferation while ~103 proviruses passage via cell differentiation (per million CD4). In simulations, therapies blocking proliferation and/or enhancing differentiation could reduce HIV DNA by 1-2 logs over 3 years. In summary, HIV exploits cellular proliferation and differentiation to persist during ART but clears faster in more proliferative/differentiated CD4 cell subsets and the same physiological mechanisms sustaining HIV might be temporarily modified to reduce it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel B Reeves
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, 1100 Fairview Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA.
- Department of Global Health, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific St, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
| | | | - Mark Fitch
- Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology, University of California, University Avenue and Oxford St, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | | | - Rebecca Hoh
- Department of Medicine, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, 1001 Potrero Ave, San Francisco, CA, 94100, USA
| | - Haelee Ahn
- Division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, 1001 Potrero Ave, San Francisco, CA, 94100, USA
| | - Mars Stone
- Vitalant Research Institute, 360 Spear St Suite 200, San Francisco, CA, 94105, USA
| | - Frederick Hecht
- Division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, 1001 Potrero Ave, San Francisco, CA, 94100, USA
| | - Jeffrey Martin
- Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, 550 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
| | - Steven G Deeks
- Department of Medicine, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, 1001 Potrero Ave, San Francisco, CA, 94100, USA
| | - Marc K Hellerstein
- Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology, University of California, University Avenue and Oxford St, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Joseph M McCune
- HIV Frontiers, Global Health Accelerator, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 500 5th Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Joshua T Schiffer
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, 1100 Fairview Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
- Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, 1100 Fairview Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
- Department of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific St, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Peter W Hunt
- Division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, 1001 Potrero Ave, San Francisco, CA, 94100, USA
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4
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Reeves DB, Gaebler C, Oliveira TY, Peluso MJ, Schiffer JT, Cohn LB, Deeks SG, Nussenzweig MC. Impact of misclassified defective proviruses on HIV reservoir measurements. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4186. [PMID: 37443365 PMCID: PMC10345136 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39837-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Most proviruses persisting in people living with HIV (PWH) on antiretroviral therapy (ART) are defective. However, rarer intact proviruses almost always reinitiate viral rebound if ART stops. Therefore, assessing therapies to prevent viral rebound hinges on specifically quantifying intact proviruses. We evaluated the same samples from 10 male PWH on ART using the two-probe intact proviral DNA assay (IPDA) and near full length (nfl) Q4PCR. Both assays admitted similar ratios of intact to total HIV DNA, but IPDA found ~40-fold more intact proviruses. Neither assay suggested defective proviruses decay over 10 years. However, the mean intact half-lives were different: 108 months for IPDA and 65 months for Q4PCR. To reconcile this difference, we modeled additional longitudinal IPDA data and showed that decelerating intact decay could arise from very long-lived intact proviruses and/or misclassified defective proviruses: slowly decaying defective proviruses that are intact in IPDA probe locations (estimated up to 5%, in agreement with sequence library based predictions). The model also demonstrates how misclassification can lead to underestimated efficacy of therapies that exclusively reduce intact proviruses. We conclude that sensitive multi-probe assays combined with specific nfl-verified assays would be optimal to document absolute and changing levels of intact HIV proviruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel B Reeves
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | - Christian Gaebler
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Laboratory of Translational Immunology of Viral Infections, Department of Infectious Diseases, Charité -Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Thiago Y Oliveira
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Michael J Peluso
- Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine, Department of Medicine, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Joshua T Schiffer
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Lillian B Cohn
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Steven G Deeks
- Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine, Department of Medicine, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Michel C Nussenzweig
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
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5
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Kobayashi-Ishihara M, Frazão Smutná K, Alonso FE, Argilaguet J, Esteve-Codina A, Geiger K, Genescà M, Grau-Expósito J, Duran-Castells C, Rogenmoser S, Böttcher R, Jungfleisch J, Oliva B, Martinez JP, Li M, David M, Yamagishi M, Ruiz-Riol M, Brander C, Tsunetsugu-Yokota Y, Buzon MJ, Díez J, Meyerhans A. Schlafen 12 restricts HIV-1 latency reversal by a codon-usage dependent post-transcriptional block in CD4+ T cells. Commun Biol 2023; 6:487. [PMID: 37165099 PMCID: PMC10172343 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04841-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Latency is a major barrier towards virus elimination in HIV-1-infected individuals. Yet, the mechanisms that contribute to the maintenance of HIV-1 latency are incompletely understood. Here we describe the Schlafen 12 protein (SLFN12) as an HIV-1 restriction factor that establishes a post-transcriptional block in HIV-1-infected cells and thereby inhibits HIV-1 replication and virus reactivation from latently infected cells. The inhibitory activity is dependent on the HIV-1 codon usage and on the SLFN12 RNase active sites. Within HIV-1-infected individuals, SLFN12 expression in PBMCs correlated with HIV-1 plasma viral loads and proviral loads suggesting a link with the general activation of the immune system. Using an RNA FISH-Flow HIV-1 reactivation assay, we demonstrate that SLFN12 expression is enriched in infected cells positive for HIV-1 transcripts but negative for HIV-1 proteins. Thus, codon-usage dependent translation inhibition of HIV-1 proteins participates in HIV-1 latency and can restrict the amount of virus release after latency reversal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mie Kobayashi-Ishihara
- Infection Biology Group, Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.
- Department of Molecular Biology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
| | - Katarína Frazão Smutná
- Infection Biology Group, Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Florencia E Alonso
- Infection Biology Group, Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jordi Argilaguet
- Infection Biology Group, Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
- Unitat mixta d'Investigació IRTA-UAB en Sanitat Animal. Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), Campus de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Bellaterra, Spain
- IRTA. Programa de Sanitat Animal. Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), Campus de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Anna Esteve-Codina
- Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico (CNAG-CRG), Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Kerstin Geiger
- Infection Biology Group, Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Meritxell Genescà
- Infectious Disease Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d´Hebrón, Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Judith Grau-Expósito
- Infectious Disease Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d´Hebrón, Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Clara Duran-Castells
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Badalona, Spain
| | - Selina Rogenmoser
- Infection Biology Group, Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - René Böttcher
- Molecular Virology Group, Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jennifer Jungfleisch
- Molecular Virology Group, Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Baldomero Oliva
- Structural Bioinformatics Group, Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Javier P Martinez
- Infection Biology Group, Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Manqing Li
- Section of Molecular Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Michael David
- Section of Molecular Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Makoto Yamagishi
- Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Marta Ruiz-Riol
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Badalona, Spain
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Madrid, Spain
| | - Christian Brander
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Badalona, Spain
- Universitat de Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya (UVic-UCC), Vic, Spain
- Institució de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Yasuko Tsunetsugu-Yokota
- Department of Medical Technology, School of Human Sciences, Tokyo University of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Maria J Buzon
- Infectious Disease Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d´Hebrón, Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Juana Díez
- Molecular Virology Group, Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Andreas Meyerhans
- Infection Biology Group, Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.
- Institució de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain.
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6
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Tretter F, Peters EMJ, Sturmberg J, Bennett J, Voit E, Dietrich JW, Smith G, Weckwerth W, Grossman Z, Wolkenhauer O, Marcum JA. Perspectives of (/memorandum for) systems thinking on COVID-19 pandemic and pathology. J Eval Clin Pract 2023; 29:415-429. [PMID: 36168893 PMCID: PMC9538129 DOI: 10.1111/jep.13772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Revised: 09/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Is data-driven analysis sufficient for understanding the COVID-19 pandemic and for justifying public health regulations? In this paper, we argue that such analysis is insufficient. Rather what is needed is the identification and implementation of over-arching hypothesis-related and/or theory-based rationales to conduct effective SARS-CoV2/COVID-19 (Corona) research. To that end, we analyse and compare several published recommendations for conceptual and methodological frameworks in medical research (e.g., public health, preventive medicine and health promotion) to current research approaches in medical Corona research. Although there were several efforts published in the literature to develop integrative conceptual frameworks before the COVID-19 pandemic, such as social ecology for public health issues and systems thinking in health care, only a few attempts to utilize these concepts can be found in medical Corona research. For this reason, we propose nested and integrative systemic modelling approaches to understand Corona pandemic and Corona pathology. We conclude that institutional efforts for knowledge integration and systemic thinking, but also for integrated science, are urgently needed to avoid or mitigate future pandemics and to resolve infection pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Tretter
- Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems ScienceViennaAustria
| | - Eva M. J. Peters
- Psychoneuroimmunology Laboratory, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and PsychotherapyJustus‐Liebig‐UniversityGiessenHesseGermany
- Internal Medicine and DermatologyUniversitätsmedizin‐CharitéBerlinGermany
| | - Joachim Sturmberg
- College of Health, Medicine and WellbeingUniversity of NewcastleNewcastleNew South WalesAustralia
- International Society for Systems and Complexity Sciences for HealthPrincetonNew JerseyUSA
| | - Jeanette Bennett
- Department of Psychological Science, StressWAVES Biobehavioral Research LabUniversity of North CarolinaCharlotteNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Eberhard Voit
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical EngineeringGeorgia Institute of Technology and Emory UniversityAtlantaGeorgiaUSA
| | - Johannes W. Dietrich
- Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism Section, Department of Medicine ISt. Josef Hospital, Ruhr PhilosophyBochumGermany
- Diabetes Centre Bochum/HattingenKlinik BlankensteinHattingenGermany
- Centre for Rare Endocrine Diseases (ZSE), Ruhr Centre for Rare Diseases (CeSER)BochumGermany
- Centre for Diabetes Technology, Catholic Hospitals BochumRuhr University BochumBochumGermany
| | - Gary Smith
- International Society for the Systems SciencesPontypoolUK
| | - Wolfram Weckwerth
- Vienna Metabolomics Center (VIME) and Molecular Systems Biology (MOSYS)University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Zvi Grossman
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of MedicineTel Aviv UniversityTel AvivIsrael
| | - Olaf Wolkenhauer
- Department of Systems Biology & BioinformaticsUniversity of RostockRostockGermany
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7
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White JA, Wu F, Yasin S, Moskovljevic M, Varriale J, Dragoni F, Camilo-Contreras A, Duan J, Zheng MY, Tadzong NF, Patel HB, Quiambao JMC, Rhodehouse K, Zhang H, Lai J, Beg SA, Delannoy M, Kilcrease C, Hoffmann CJ, Poulin S, Chano F, Tremblay C, Cherian J, Barditch-Crovo P, Chida N, Moore RD, Summers MF, Siliciano RF, Siliciano JD, Simonetti FR. Clonally expanded HIV-1 proviruses with 5'-leader defects can give rise to nonsuppressible residual viremia. J Clin Invest 2023; 133:165245. [PMID: 36602866 PMCID: PMC10014112 DOI: 10.1172/jci165245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BackgroundAntiretroviral therapy (ART) halts HIV-1 replication, decreasing viremia to below the detection limit of clinical assays. However, some individuals experience persistent nonsuppressible viremia (NSV) originating from CD4+ T cell clones carrying infectious proviruses. Defective proviruses represent over 90% of all proviruses persisting during ART and can express viral genes, but whether they can cause NSV and complicate ART management is unknown.MethodsWe undertook an in-depth characterization of proviruses causing NSV in 4 study participants with optimal adherence and no drug resistance. We investigated the impact of the observed defects on 5'-leader RNA properties, virus infectivity, and gene expression. Integration-site specific assays were used to track these proviruses over time and among cell subsets.ResultsClones carrying proviruses with 5'-leader defects can cause persistent NSV up to approximately 103 copies/mL. These proviruses had small, often identical deletions or point mutations involving the major splicing donor (MSD) site and showed partially reduced RNA dimerization and nucleocapsid binding. Nevertheless, they were inducible and produced noninfectious virions containing viral RNA, but lacking envelope.ConclusionThese findings show that proviruses with 5'-leader defects in CD4+ T cell clones can give rise to NSV, affecting clinical care. Sequencing of the 5'-leader can help in understanding failure to completely suppress viremia.FundingOffice of the NIH Director and National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, NIH; Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Johns Hopkins University Center for AIDS Research; National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), NIH, to the PAVE, BEAT-HIV, and DARE Martin Delaney collaboratories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer A White
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Fengting Wu
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Saif Yasin
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Milica Moskovljevic
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Joseph Varriale
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Filippo Dragoni
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | | | - Jiayi Duan
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Mei Y Zheng
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Ndeh F Tadzong
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Heer B Patel
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Jeanelle Mae C Quiambao
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Kyle Rhodehouse
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Hao Zhang
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Jun Lai
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Subul A Beg
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Michael Delannoy
- Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Christin Kilcrease
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Christopher J Hoffmann
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | | | | | - Cécile Tremblay
- Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM), Montreal, Canada.,Département de Microbiologie, Immunologie et Infectiologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Jerald Cherian
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Patricia Barditch-Crovo
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Natasha Chida
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Richard D Moore
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Michael F Summers
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Robert F Siliciano
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Janet D Siliciano
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Francesco R Simonetti
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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8
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Grossman Z, Meyerhans A, Bocharov G. An integrative systems biology view of host-pathogen interactions: The regulation of immunity and homeostasis is concomitant, flexible, and smart. Front Immunol 2023; 13:1061290. [PMID: 36761169 PMCID: PMC9904014 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1061290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The systemic bio-organization of humans and other mammals is essentially "preprogrammed", and the basic interacting units, the cells, can be crudely mapped into discrete sets of developmental lineages and maturation states. Over several decades, however, and focusing on the immune system, we and others invoked evidence - now overwhelming - suggesting dynamic acquisition of cellular properties and functions, through tuning, re-networking, chromatin remodeling, and adaptive differentiation. The genetically encoded "algorithms" that govern the integration of signals and the computation of new states are not fully understood but are believed to be "smart", designed to enable the cells and the system to discriminate meaningful perturbations from each other and from "noise". Cellular sensory and response properties are shaped in part by recurring temporal patterns, or features, of the signaling environment. We compared this phenomenon to associative brain learning. We proposed that interactive cell learning is subject to selective pressures geared to performance, allowing the response of immune cells to injury or infection to be progressively coordinated with that of other cell types across tissues and organs. This in turn is comparable to supervised brain learning. Guided by feedback from both the tissue itself and the neural system, resident or recruited antigen-specific and innate immune cells can eradicate a pathogen while simultaneously sustaining functional homeostasis. As informative memories of immune responses are imprinted both systemically and within the targeted tissues, it is desirable to enhance tissue preparedness by incorporating attenuated-pathogen vaccines and informed choice of tissue-centered immunomodulators in vaccination schemes. Fortunately, much of the "training" that a living system requires to survive and function in the face of disturbances from outside or within is already incorporated into its design, so it does not need to deep-learn how to face a new challenge each time from scratch. Instead, the system learns from experience how to efficiently select a built-in strategy, or a combination of those, and can then use tuning to refine its organization and responses. Efforts to identify and therapeutically augment such strategies can take advantage of existing integrative modeling approaches. One recently explored strategy is boosting the flux of uninfected cells into and throughout an infected tissue to rinse and replace the infected cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zvi Grossman
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel,Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, United States,*Correspondence: Zvi Grossman, ; Andreas Meyerhans, ; Gennady Bocharov,
| | - Andreas Meyerhans
- Infection Biology Laboratory, Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain,ICREA, Barcelona, Spain,*Correspondence: Zvi Grossman, ; Andreas Meyerhans, ; Gennady Bocharov,
| | - Gennady Bocharov
- Marchuk Institute of Numerical Mathematics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia,Institute of Computer Science and Mathematical Modeling, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia,*Correspondence: Zvi Grossman, ; Andreas Meyerhans, ; Gennady Bocharov,
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9
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Wolf G, Gerber AN, Fasana ZG, Rosenberg K, Singh NJ. Acute effects of FLT3L treatment on T cells in intact mice. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19487. [PMID: 36376544 PMCID: PMC9662129 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-24126-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Peripheral T cells express a diverse repertoire of antigen-specific receptors, which together protect against the full range of pathogens. In this context, the total repertoire of memory T cells which are maintained by trophic signals, long after pathogen clearance, is critical. Since these trophic factors include cytokines and self-peptide-MHC, both of which are available from endogenous antigen-presenting cells (APC), we hypothesized that enhancing APC numbers in vivo can be a viable strategy to amplify the population of memory T cells. We evaluated this by acutely treating intact mice with FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (Flt3l), which promotes expansion of APCs. Here we report that this treatment allowed for, an expansion of effector-memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells as well as an increase in their expression of KLRG1 and CD25. In the lymph nodes and spleen, the expansion was limited to a specific CD8 (CD44-low but CD62L-) subset. Functionally, this subset is distinct from naïve T cells and could produce significant amounts of effector cytokines upon restimulation. Taken together, these data suggest that the administration of Flt3L can impact both APC turnover as well as a corresponding flux of specific subsets of CD8+ T cells in an intact peripheral immune compartment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gideon Wolf
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 685 W Baltimore St., HSF1, Room 380, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Allison N Gerber
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 685 W Baltimore St., HSF1, Room 380, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Zachary G Fasana
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 685 W Baltimore St., HSF1, Room 380, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Kenneth Rosenberg
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 685 W Baltimore St., HSF1, Room 380, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Nevil J Singh
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 685 W Baltimore St., HSF1, Room 380, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
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10
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HIV proviral genetic diversity, compartmentalization and inferred dynamics in lung and blood during long-term suppressive antiretroviral therapy. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010613. [PMID: 36331974 PMCID: PMC9668181 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The lung is an understudied site of HIV persistence. We isolated 898 subgenomic proviral sequences (nef) by single-genome approaches from blood and lung from nine individuals on long-term suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART), and characterized genetic diversity and compartmentalization using formal tests. Consistent with clonal expansion as a driver of HIV persistence, identical sequences comprised between 8% to 86% of within-host datasets, though their location (blood vs. lung) followed no consistent pattern. The majority (77%) of participants harboured at least one sequence shared across blood and lung, supporting the migration of clonally-expanded cells between sites. The extent of blood proviral diversity on ART was also a strong indicator of diversity in lung (Spearman's ρ = 0.98, p<0.0001). For three participants, insufficient lung sequences were recovered to reliably investigate genetic compartmentalization. Of the remainder, only two participants showed statistically significant support for compartmentalization when analysis was restricted to distinct proviruses per site, and the extent of compartmentalization was modest in both cases. When all within-host sequences (including duplicates) were considered, the number of compartmentalized datasets increased to four. Thus, while a subset of individuals harbour somewhat distinctive proviral populations in blood and lung, this can simply be due to unequal distributions of clonally-expanded sequences. For two participants, on-ART proviruses were also phylogenetically analyzed in context of plasma HIV RNA populations sampled up to 18 years prior, including pre-ART and during previous treatment interruptions. In both participants, on-ART proviruses represented the most ancestral sequences sampled within-host, confirming that HIV sequences can persist in the body for decades. This analysis also revealed evidence of re-seeding of the reservoir during treatment interruptions. Results highlight the genetic complexity of proviruses persisting in lung and blood during ART, and the uniqueness of each individual's proviral composition. Personalized HIV remission and cure strategies may be needed to overcome these challenges.
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11
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Fardoos R, Nyquist SK, Asowata OE, Kazer SW, Singh A, Ngoepe A, Giandhari J, Mthabela N, Ramjit D, Singh S, Karim F, Buus S, Anderson F, Porterfield JZ, Sibiya AL, Bipath R, Moodley K, Kuhn W, Berger B, Nguyen S, de Oliveira T, Ndung’u T, Goulder P, Shalek AK, Leslie A, Kløverpris HN. HIV specific CD8 + T RM-like cells in tonsils express exhaustive signatures in the absence of natural HIV control. Front Immunol 2022; 13:912038. [PMID: 36330531 PMCID: PMC9623418 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.912038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Lymphoid tissues are an important HIV reservoir site that persists in the face of antiretroviral therapy and natural immunity. Targeting these reservoirs by harnessing the antiviral activity of local tissue-resident memory (TRM) CD8+ T-cells is of great interest, but limited data exist on TRM-like cells within lymph nodes of people living with HIV (PLWH). Here, we studied tonsil CD8+ T-cells obtained from PLWH and uninfected controls from South Africa. We show that these cells are preferentially located outside the germinal centers (GCs), the main reservoir site for HIV, and display a low cytolytic and a transcriptionally TRM-like profile distinct from blood CD8+ T-cells. In PLWH, CD8+ TRM-like cells are expanded and adopt a more cytolytic, activated, and exhausted phenotype not reversed by antiretroviral therapy (ART). This phenotype was enhanced in HIV-specific CD8+ T-cells from tonsils compared to matched blood suggesting a higher antigen burden in tonsils. Single-cell transcriptional and clonotype resolution showed that these HIV-specific CD8+ T-cells in the tonsils express heterogeneous signatures of T-cell activation, clonal expansion, and exhaustion ex-vivo. Interestingly, this signature was absent in a natural HIV controller, who expressed lower PD-1 and CXCR5 levels and reduced transcriptional evidence of T-cell activation, exhaustion, and cytolytic activity. These data provide important insights into lymphoid tissue-derived HIV-specific CD8+ TRM-like phenotypes in settings of HIV remission and highlight their potential for immunotherapy and targeting of the HIV reservoirs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rabiah Fardoos
- Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sarah K. Nyquist
- Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, Department of Chemistry, and Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Program in Computational and Systems Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | | | - Samuel W. Kazer
- Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, Department of Chemistry, and Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Alveera Singh
- Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa
| | - Abigail Ngoepe
- Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa
| | - Jennifer Giandhari
- KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP), Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | | | - Dirhona Ramjit
- Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa
| | - Samita Singh
- Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa
| | - Farina Karim
- Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa
| | - Søren Buus
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Frank Anderson
- Discipline of General Surgery, Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - J. Zachary Porterfield
- Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, - Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
- Department of Internal Medicine - Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Andile L. Sibiya
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology & Head & Neck Surgery, Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Rishan Bipath
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, King Edward VIII hospital, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Kumeshan Moodley
- Department of Ear Nose and Throat, General Justice Gizenga Mpanza Regional Hospital (Stanger Hospital), University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Warren Kuhn
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology & Head & Neck Surgery, Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
- Department of Ear Nose and Throat, General Justice Gizenga Mpanza Regional Hospital (Stanger Hospital), University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Bonnie Berger
- Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab and Department of Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Son Nguyen
- Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, Department of Chemistry, and Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Tulio de Oliveira
- KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP), Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Thumbi Ndung’u
- Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, The Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa
- University College London, Division of Infection and Immunity, London, United Kingdom
| | - Philip Goulder
- Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, The Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Alex K. Shalek
- Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, Department of Chemistry, and Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Ragon Institute of MGH, Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Alasdair Leslie
- Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa
- University College London, Division of Infection and Immunity, London, United Kingdom
| | - Henrik N. Kløverpris
- Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- University College London, Division of Infection and Immunity, London, United Kingdom
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12
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Bocharov G, Grebennikov D, Cebollada Rica P, Domenjo-Vila E, Casella V, Meyerhans A. Functional cure of a chronic virus infection by shifting the virus - host equilibrium state. Front Immunol 2022; 13:904342. [PMID: 36110838 PMCID: PMC9468810 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.904342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The clinical handling of chronic virus infections remains a challenge. Here we describe recent progress in the understanding of virus - host interaction dynamics. Based on the systems biology concept of multi-stability and the prediction of multiplicative cooperativity between virus-specific cytotoxic T cells and neutralising antibodies, we argue for the requirements to engage multiple immune system components for functional cure strategies. Our arguments are derived from LCMV model system studies and are translated to HIV-1 infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gennady Bocharov
- Marchuk Institute of Numerical Mathematics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- Moscow Center for Fundamental and Applied Mathematics at INM RAS, Moscow, Russia
- Institute for Computer Science and Mathematical Modelling, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Dmitry Grebennikov
- Marchuk Institute of Numerical Mathematics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- Moscow Center for Fundamental and Applied Mathematics at INM RAS, Moscow, Russia
- Institute for Computer Science and Mathematical Modelling, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Paula Cebollada Rica
- Infection Biology Laboratory, Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Eva Domenjo-Vila
- Infection Biology Laboratory, Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Valentina Casella
- Infection Biology Laboratory, Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Andreas Meyerhans
- Infection Biology Laboratory, Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
- Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
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13
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mSphere
of Influence: There’s More to (a Pathogen’s) Life than Growing Fast. mSphere 2022; 7:e0027722. [PMID: 35862792 PMCID: PMC9429926 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00277-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Nina Wale works in the field of infectious disease evolution and ecology. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how the paper by Roller and Schmidt, “The physiology and ecological implications of efficient growth” (B. R. Roller and T. M. Schmidt, ISME J 9:1481–1487, 2015,
https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2014.235
) broadened her thinking about how microbes acquire and allocate resources and, in so doing, set her research on pathogen virulence evolution in a new direction.
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14
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Abana CZY, Lamptey H, Bonney EY, Kyei GB. HIV cure strategies: which ones are appropriate for Africa? Cell Mol Life Sci 2022; 79:400. [PMID: 35794316 PMCID: PMC9259540 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-022-04421-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2022] [Revised: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Although combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) has reduced mortality and improved lifespan for people living with HIV, it does not provide a cure. Patients must be on ART for the rest of their lives and contend with side effects, unsustainable costs, and the development of drug resistance. A cure for HIV is, therefore, warranted to avoid the limitations of the current therapy and restore full health. However, this cure is difficult to find due to the persistence of latently infected HIV cellular reservoirs during suppressive ART. Approaches to HIV cure being investigated include boosting the host immune system, genetic approaches to disable co-receptors and the viral genome, purging cells harboring latent HIV with latency-reversing latency agents (LRAs) (shock and kill), intensifying ART as a cure, preventing replication of latent proviruses (block and lock) and boosting T cell turnover to reduce HIV-1 reservoirs (rinse and replace). Since most people living with HIV are in Africa, methods being developed for a cure must be amenable to clinical trials and deployment on the continent. This review discusses the current approaches to HIV cure and comments on their appropriateness for Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Zaab-Yen Abana
- Department of Virology, College of Health Sciences, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
| | - Helena Lamptey
- Department of Immunology, College of Health Sciences, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
| | - Evelyn Y Bonney
- Department of Virology, College of Health Sciences, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
| | - George B Kyei
- Department of Virology, College of Health Sciences, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
- Departments of Medicine and Molecular Microbiology, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Medical and Scientific Research Center, University of Ghana Medical Centre, Accra, Ghana.
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15
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Atlas of the HIV-1 Reservoir in Peripheral CD4 T Cells of Individuals on Successful Antiretroviral Therapy. mBio 2021; 12:e0307821. [PMID: 34844430 PMCID: PMC8630536 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.03078-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Knowing the mechanisms that govern the persistence of infected CD4+ subpopulations could help us to design new therapies to cure HIV-1 infection. We evaluated the simultaneous distribution of the HIV-1 reservoir in 13 CD4+ subpopulations from 14 HIV-1-infected individuals on antiretroviral therapy to analyze its relationship with HIV-1 transcription, immune activation, and cell proliferation. A unique large blood donation was used to isolate CD4, CD4 resting (CD4r), CD4 activated (CD4a), T naive (TN), T stem cell memory (TSCM), T central memory (TCM), T transitional memory (TTM), T effector memory (TEM), circulating T follicular helper (cTFH), TCD20, TCD32, and resting memory TCD2high (rmTCD2high) cells. HIV-1 DNA measured by droplet digital PCR ranged from 3,636 copies/106 in TTM to 244 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), with no subpopulation standing out for provirus enrichment. Importantly, all the subpopulations harbored intact provirus by intact provirus DNA assay (IPDA). TCD32, cTFH, and TTM had the highest levels of HIV-1 transcription measured by fluorescent in situ hybridization with flow cytometry (FISH/flow), but without reaching statistical differences. The subpopulations more enriched in provirus had a memory phenotype, were less activated (measured by CD38+/HLA-DR+), and expressed more programmed cell death 1 (PD-1). Conversely, subpopulations transcribing more HIV-1 RNA were not necessarily enriched in provirus and were more activated (measured by CD38+/HLA-DR+) and more proliferative (measured by Ki-67). In conclusion, the HIV reservoir is composed of a mosaic of subpopulations contributing to the HIV-1 persistence through different mechanisms such as susceptibility to infection, provirus intactness, or transcriptional status. The narrow range of reservoir differences between the different blood cell subsets tested suggests limited efficacy in targeting only specific cell subpopulations during HIV-1 cure strategies. IMPORTANCE The main barrier for HIV-1 cure is the presence of latently infected CD4+ T cells. Although various cell subpopulations have been identified as major HIV-1 reservoir cells, the relative contribution of infected CD4 subpopulations in the HIV-1 reservoir remains largely unknown. Here, we evaluated the simultaneous distribution of the HIV-1 reservoir in 13 CD4+ T-cell subpopulations in peripheral blood from HIV-1-infected individuals under suppressive antiretroviral therapy. We found that the HIV-1 reservoir is composed of a mosaic of cell subpopulations, with heterogeneous proviral DNA, HIV-1 transcription, and activation status. Hence, each cell subpopulation contributes to the HIV-1 persistence through different mechanisms such as susceptibility to infection, rates of intact provirus, transcriptional status or half-life. This research provides new insights into the composition of the HIV-1 reservoir, suggesting that, to be effective, eradication strategies must simultaneously target multiple cell subpopulations.
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16
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HIV Proviral Burden, Genetic Diversity, and Dynamics in Viremic Controllers Who Subsequently Initiated Suppressive Antiretroviral Therapy. mBio 2021; 12:e0249021. [PMID: 34781741 PMCID: PMC8693448 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02490-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Curing HIV will require eliminating the reservoir of integrated, replication-competent proviruses that persist despite antiretroviral therapy (ART). Understanding the burden, genetic diversity, and longevity of persisting proviruses in diverse individuals with HIV is critical to this goal, but these characteristics remain understudied in some groups. Among them are viremic controllers—individuals who naturally suppress HIV to low levels but for whom therapy is nevertheless recommended. We reconstructed within-host HIV evolutionary histories from longitudinal single-genome amplified viral sequences in four viremic controllers who eventually initiated ART and used this information to characterize the age and diversity of proviruses persisting on therapy. We further leveraged these within-host proviral age distributions to estimate rates of proviral turnover prior to ART. This is an important yet understudied metric, since pre-ART proviral turnover dictates reservoir composition at ART initiation (and thereafter), which is when curative interventions, once developed, would be administered. Despite natural viremic control, all participants displayed significant within-host HIV evolution pretherapy, where overall on-ART proviral burden and diversity broadly reflected the extent of viral replication and diversity pre-ART. Consistent with recent studies of noncontrollers, the proviral pools of two participants were skewed toward sequences that integrated near ART initiation, suggesting dynamic proviral turnover during untreated infection. In contrast, proviruses recovered from the other two participants dated to time points that were more evenly spread throughout infection, suggesting slow or negligible proviral decay following deposition. HIV cure strategies will need to overcome within-host proviral diversity, even in individuals who naturally controlled HIV replication before therapy.
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17
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Simonetti FR, Zhang H, Soroosh GP, Duan J, Rhodehouse K, Hill AL, Beg SA, McCormick K, Raymond HE, Nobles CL, Everett JK, Kwon KJ, White JA, Lai J, Margolick JB, Hoh R, Deeks SG, Bushman FD, Siliciano JD, Siliciano RF. Antigen-driven clonal selection shapes the persistence of HIV-1-infected CD4+ T cells in vivo. J Clin Invest 2021; 131:145254. [PMID: 33301425 DOI: 10.1172/jci145254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Clonal expansion of infected CD4+ T cells is a major mechanism of HIV-1 persistence and a barrier to achieving a cure. Potential causes are homeostatic proliferation, effects of HIV-1 integration, and interaction with antigens. Here, we show that it is possible to link antigen responsiveness, the full proviral sequence, the integration site, and the T cell receptor β-chain (TCRβ) sequence to examine the role of recurrent antigenic exposure in maintaining the HIV-1 reservoir. We isolated CMV- and Gag-responding CD4+ T cells from 10 treated individuals. Proviral populations in CMV-responding cells were dominated by large clones, including clones harboring replication-competent proviruses. TCRβ repertoires showed high clonality driven by converging adaptive responses. Although some proviruses were in genes linked to HIV-1 persistence (BACH2, STAT5B, MKL1), the proliferation of infected cells under antigenic stimulation occurred regardless of the site of integration. Paired TCRβ and integration site analysis showed that infection could occur early or late in the course of a clone's response to antigen and could generate infected cell populations too large to be explained solely by homeostatic proliferation. Together, these findings implicate antigen-driven clonal selection as a major factor in HIV-1 persistence, a finding that will be a difficult challenge to eradication efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco R Simonetti
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Hao Zhang
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Garshasb P Soroosh
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Jiayi Duan
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Kyle Rhodehouse
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Alison L Hill
- Institute for Computational Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Subul A Beg
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Kevin McCormick
- Department of Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Hayley E Raymond
- Department of Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Christopher L Nobles
- Department of Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - John K Everett
- Department of Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Kyungyoon J Kwon
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Jennifer A White
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Jun Lai
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Joseph B Margolick
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Rebecca Hoh
- Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine, UCSF, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Steven G Deeks
- Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine, UCSF, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Frederic D Bushman
- Department of Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Janet D Siliciano
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Robert F Siliciano
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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Brooks K, Omondi FH, Liang RH, Sudderuddin H, Jones BR, Joy JB, Brumme CJ, Hunter E, Brumme ZL. Proviral Turnover During Untreated HIV Infection Is Dynamic and Variable Between Hosts, Impacting Reservoir Composition on ART. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:719153. [PMID: 34489909 PMCID: PMC8417368 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.719153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can persist as an integrated provirus, in a transcriptionally repressed state, within infected cells. This small yet enduring pool of cellular reservoirs that harbor replication-competent HIV is the main barrier to cure. Entry of viral sequences into cellular reservoirs begins shortly after infection, and cells containing integrated proviral DNA are extremely stable once suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) is initiated. During untreated HIV infection however, reservoir turnover is likely to be more dynamic. Understanding these dynamics is important because the longevity of the persisting proviral pool during untreated infection dictates reservoir composition at ART initiation. If the persisting proviral pool turns over slowly pre-ART, then HIV sequences seeded into it during early infection would have a high likelihood of persisting for long periods. However, if pre-ART turnover was rapid, the persisting proviral pool would rapidly shift toward recently circulating HIV sequences. One-way to estimate this turnover rate is from the age distributions of proviruses sampled shortly after therapy initiation: this is because, at the time of sampling, the majority of proviral turnover would have already occurred prior to ART. Recently, methods to estimate a provirus’ age from its sequence have made this possible. Using data from 12 individuals with HIV subtype C for whom proviral ages had been determined phylogenetically, we estimated that the average proviral half-life during untreated infection was 0.78 (range 0.45–2.38) years, which is >15 times faster than that of proviral DNA during suppressive ART. We further show that proviral turnover during untreated infection correlates with both viral setpoint and rate of CD4+ T-cell decline during this period. Overall, our results support dynamic proviral turnover pre-ART in most individuals, which helps explain why many individuals’ reservoirs are skewed toward younger HIV sequences. Broadly, our findings are consistent with the notion that active viral replication creates an environment less favorable to proviral persistence, while viral suppression creates conditions more favorable to persistence, where ART stabilizes the proviral pool by dramatically slowing its rate of decay. Strategies to inhibit this stabilizing effect and/or to enhance reservoir turnover during ART could represent additional strategies to reduce the HIV reservoir.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelsie Brooks
- Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - F Harrison Omondi
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.,British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Richard H Liang
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Hanwei Sudderuddin
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Bradley R Jones
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada.,Bioinformatics Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Jeffrey B Joy
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada.,Bioinformatics Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.,Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Chanson J Brumme
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada.,Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Eric Hunter
- Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States.,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Zabrina L Brumme
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.,British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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19
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Abstract
Conventional CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes comprise a mixture of naive and memory cells. Generation and survival of these T-cell subsets is under strict homeostatic control and reflects contact with self-major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and certain cytokines. Naive T cells arise in the thymus via T-cell receptor (TCR)-dependent positive selection to self-peptide/MHC complexes and are then maintained in the periphery through self-MHC interaction plus stimulation via interleukin-7 (IL-7). By contrast, memory T cells are largely MHC-independent for their survival but depend strongly on stimulation via cytokines. Whereas typical memory T cells are generated in response to foreign antigens, some arise spontaneously through contact of naive precursors with self-MHC ligands; we refer to these cells as memory-phenotype (MP) T cells. In this review, we discuss the generation and homeostasis of naive T cells and these two types of memory T cells, focusing on their relative interaction with MHC ligands and cytokines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takeshi Kawabe
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8575, Japan
| | - Jaeu Yi
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA
| | - Jonathan Sprent
- Immunology Division, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, New South Wales 2010, Australia
- St. Vincent's Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2010, Australia
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20
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Giovannoni F, Li Z, Remes-Lenicov F, Dávola ME, Elizalde M, Paletta A, Ashkar AA, Mossman KL, Dugour AV, Figueroa JM, Barquero AA, Ceballos A, Garcia CC, Quintana FJ. AHR signaling is induced by infection with coronaviruses. Nat Commun 2021; 12:5148. [PMID: 34446714 PMCID: PMC8390748 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25412-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Coronavirus infection in humans is usually associated to respiratory tract illnesses, ranging in severity from mild to life-threatening respiratory failure. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) was recently identified as a host factor for Zika and dengue viruses; AHR antagonists boost antiviral immunity, decrease viral titers and ameliorate Zika-induced pathology in vivo. Here we report that AHR is activated by infection with different coronaviruses, potentially impacting antiviral immunity and lung epithelial cells. Indeed, the analysis of single-cell RNA-seq from lung tissue detected increased expression of AHR and AHR transcriptional targets, suggesting AHR signaling activation in SARS-CoV-2-infected epithelial cells from COVID-19 patients. Moreover, we detected an association between AHR expression and viral load in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients. Finally, we found that the pharmacological inhibition of AHR suppressed the replication in vitro of one of the causative agents of the common cold, HCoV-229E, and the causative agent of the COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2. Taken together, these findings suggest that AHR activation is a common strategy used by coronaviruses to evade antiviral immunity and promote viral replication, which may also contribute to lung pathology. Future studies should further evaluate the potential of AHR as a target for host-directed antiviral therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Giovannoni
- Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Zhaorong Li
- Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Federico Remes-Lenicov
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - María E Dávola
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Michael DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Mercedes Elizalde
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ana Paletta
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ali A Ashkar
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Michael DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Karen L Mossman
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Michael DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Andrea V Dugour
- Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología Dr. Cesar Milstein (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas-Fundacion Cassara), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Juan M Figueroa
- Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología Dr. Cesar Milstein (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas-Fundacion Cassara), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Andrea A Barquero
- Laboratorio de Virología, Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires. CONICET- Instituto de Química Biológica (IQUIBICEN), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ana Ceballos
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Cybele C Garcia
- Laboratorio de Estrategias Antivirales, Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires. CONICET- Instituto de Química Biológica (IQUIBICEN), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Francisco J Quintana
- Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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21
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Wolf G, Singh NJ. Modular Approaches to Understand the Immunobiology of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Latency. Viral Immunol 2021; 34:365-375. [PMID: 33600238 DOI: 10.1089/vim.2020.0171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite advances in slowing the progression of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), there is no viable cure for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The challenge toward a cure is mainly the formation and maintenance of a latent reservoir of cells that harbor the virus in both replication-competent and replication-defective states. This small niche of quiescent cells has been identified to reside primarily in quiescent and memory CD4+ T cells, but parameters that could reliably distinguish an infected T cell from an uninfected one, if any, are not clear. In addition, the migratory properties and specific anatomical reservoirs of latent T cells are difficult to measure at a high resolution in humans. A functional cure of HIV would require targeting this population using innovative new clinical strategies. One constraint toward the empirical development of such approaches is the absence of a native small animal model for AIDS. Since HIV does not efficiently infect murine cells, probing molecular-genetic questions involving latently infected T cells homing to deep tissue sites, interacting with stroma and persisting through different treatment regimens, is challenging. The goal of this article is to discuss how examining the dynamics of T cells in mouse models can provide a framework for effectively studying these questions, even without infecting mice with HIV. The inflammatory and cytokine milieu found in early human HIV infections are being increasingly understood as a result of clinical measurements. Mouse studies that recreate this milieu can potentially be used to subsequently map the fate of T cells activated in this context as well as their migratory routes. In essence, such a framework could allow complementary studies in mice to enhance our understanding of aspects of the biology of HIV latency. This can be the basis of a modular approach to small animal HIV modeling, amenable to preclinical curative strategy development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gideon Wolf
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Nevil J Singh
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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