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Teixeira AR, Bittar C, Silva Santos GS, Oliveira TY, Huang AS, Linden N, Ferreira IATM, Murdza T, Muecksch F, Jones RB, Caskey M, Jankovic M, Nussenzweig MC. Transcription of HIV-1 at sites of intact latent provirus integration. J Exp Med 2024; 221:e20240391. [PMID: 39141127 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20240391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2024] [Revised: 05/21/2024] [Accepted: 07/30/2024] [Indexed: 08/15/2024] Open
Abstract
HIV-1 antiretroviral therapy is highly effective but fails to eliminate a reservoir of latent proviruses, leading to a requirement for life-long treatment. How the site of integration of authentic intact latent proviruses might impact their own or neighboring gene expression or reservoir dynamics is poorly understood. Here, we report on proviral and neighboring gene transcription at sites of intact latent HIV-1 integration in cultured T cells obtained directly from people living with HIV, as well as engineered primary T cells and cell lines. Proviral gene expression was correlated to the level of endogenous gene expression under resting but not activated conditions. Notably, latent proviral promoters were 100-10,000× less active than in productively infected cells and had little or no measurable impact on neighboring gene expression under resting or activated conditions. Thus, the site of integration has a dominant effect on the transcriptional activity of intact HIV-1 proviruses in the latent reservoir, thereby influencing cytopathic effects and proviral immune evasion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Rafaela Teixeira
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Cintia Bittar
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Thiago Y Oliveira
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Noemi Linden
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Isabella A T M Ferreira
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Tetyana Murdza
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Virology, Center for Integrative Infectious Disease Research (CIID), Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Frauke Muecksch
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Virology, Center for Integrative Infectious Disease Research (CIID), Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Virology, Chica and Heinz Schaller (CHS) Research Group, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - R Brad Jones
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Marina Caskey
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mila Jankovic
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Michel C Nussenzweig
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute , Chevy Chase, MD, USA
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2
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Hossain T, Lungu C, de Schrijver S, Kuali M, Crespo R, Reddy N, Ngubane A, Kan TW, Reddy K, Rao S, Palstra RJ, Madlala P, Ndung'u T, Mahmoudi T. Specific quantification of inducible HIV-1 reservoir by RT-LAMP. COMMUNICATIONS MEDICINE 2024; 4:123. [PMID: 38918506 PMCID: PMC11199587 DOI: 10.1038/s43856-024-00553-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Strategies toward HIV-1 cure aim to clear, inactivate, reduce, or immunologically control the virus from a pool of latently infected cells such that combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) can be safely interrupted. In order to assess the impact of any putative curative interventions on the size and inducibility of the latent HIV-1 reservoir, robust and scalable assays are needed to precisely quantify the frequency of infected cells containing inducible HIV-1. METHODS We developed Specific Quantification of Inducible HIV-1 by RT-LAMP (SQuHIVLa), leveraging the high sensitivity and specificity of RT-LAMP, performed in a single reaction, to detect and quantify cells expressing tat/rev HIV-1 multiply spliced RNA (msRNA) upon activation. The LAMP primer/probe used in SQuHIVLa was designed to exclusively detect HIV-1 tat/rev msRNA and adapted for different HIV-1 subtypes. RESULTS Using SQuHIVLa, we successfully quantify the inducible viral reservoir in CD4+ T cells from people living with HIV-1 subtypes B and C on cART. The assay demonstrates high sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility. CONCLUSIONS SQuHIVLa offers a high throughput, scalable, and specific HIV-1 reservoir quantification tool that is amenable to resource-limited settings. This assay poses remarkable potential in facilitating the evaluation of potential interventional strategies toward achieving HIV-1 cure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanvir Hossain
- Department of Biochemistry, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Cynthia Lungu
- Department of Biochemistry, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sten de Schrijver
- Department of Biochemistry, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Mamokoena Kuali
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, The Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Raquel Crespo
- Department of Biochemistry, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Nicole Reddy
- Africa Health Research Institute, Durban, South Africa
| | - Ayanda Ngubane
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, The Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Tsung Wai Kan
- Department of Urology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Kavidha Reddy
- Africa Health Research Institute, Durban, South Africa
| | - Shringar Rao
- Department of Biochemistry, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Robert-Jan Palstra
- Department of Urology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Paradise Madlala
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, The Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Thumbi Ndung'u
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, The Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
- Africa Health Research Institute, Durban, South Africa
- Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London, UK
| | - Tokameh Mahmoudi
- Department of Biochemistry, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
- Department of Urology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
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3
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Armani-Tourret M, Bone B, Tan TS, Sun W, Bellefroid M, Struyve T, Louella M, Yu XG, Lichterfeld M. Immune targeting of HIV-1 reservoir cells: a path to elimination strategies and cure. Nat Rev Microbiol 2024; 22:328-344. [PMID: 38337034 PMCID: PMC11131351 DOI: 10.1038/s41579-024-01010-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
Successful approaches for eradication or cure of HIV-1 infection are likely to include immunological mechanisms, but remarkably little is known about how human immune responses can recognize and interact with the few HIV-1-infected cells that harbour genome-intact viral DNA, persist long term despite antiretroviral therapy and represent the main barrier to a cure. For a long time regarded as being completely shielded from host immune responses due to viral latency, these cells do, on closer examination with single-cell analytic techniques, display discrete footprints of immune selection, implying that human immune responses may be able to effectively engage and target at least some of these cells. The failure to eliminate rebound-competent virally infected cells in the majority of persons likely reflects the evolution of a highly selected pool of reservoir cells that are effectively camouflaged from immune recognition or rely on sophisticated approaches for resisting immune-mediated killing. Understanding the fine-tuned interplay between host immune responses and viral reservoir cells will help to design improved interventions that exploit the immunological vulnerabilities of HIV-1 reservoir cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Armani-Tourret
- Infectious Disease Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Benjamin Bone
- Infectious Disease Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Toong Seng Tan
- Infectious Disease Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Weiwei Sun
- Infectious Disease Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Maxime Bellefroid
- Infectious Disease Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Tine Struyve
- HIV Cure Research Center, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Michael Louella
- Community Advisory Board, Delaney AIDS Research Enterprise (DARE), San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Xu G Yu
- Infectious Disease Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Mathias Lichterfeld
- Infectious Disease Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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4
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Bone B, Lichterfeld M. "Block and lock" viral integration sites in persons with drug-free control of HIV-1 infection. Curr Opin HIV AIDS 2024; 19:110-115. [PMID: 38457193 DOI: 10.1097/coh.0000000000000845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Elite controllers (ECs) and Posttreatment controllers (PTCs) represent a small subset of individuals who are capable of maintaining drug-free control of HIV plasma viral loads despite the persistence of a replication-competent viral reservoir. This review aims to curate recent experimental studies evaluating viral reservoirs that distinguish EC/PTC and may contribute to their ability to maintain undetectable viral loads in the absence of antiretroviral therapy. RECENT FINDINGS Recent studies on ECs have demonstrated that integration sites of intact proviruses in EC/PTC are markedly biased towards heterochromatin regions; in contrast, intact proviruses in accessible and permissive chromatin were profoundly underrepresented. Of note, no such biases were noted when CD4 + T cells from EC were infected directly ex vivo, suggesting that the viral reservoir profile in EC is not related to altered integration site preferences during acute infection, but instead represents the result of immune-mediated selection mechanisms that can eliminate proviruses in transcriptionally-active euchromatin regions while promoting preferential persistence of intact proviruses in nonpermissive genome regions. Proviral transcription in such "blocked and locked" regions may be restricted through epigenetic mechanisms, protecting them from immune-recognition but presumably limiting their ability to drive viral rebound. While the exact immune mechanisms driving this selection process remain undefined, recent single-cell analytic approaches support the hypothesis that HIV reservoir cells are subject to immune selection pressure by host factors. SUMMARY A "blocked and locked" viral reservoir profile may constitute a structural virological correlate of a functional cure of HIV-1 infection. Further research into the immunological mechanism promoting HIV-1 reservoir selection and evolution in EC/PTC is warranted and could inform foreseeable cure strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Bone
- Infectious Disease Division, Brigham Women's Hospital, Boston
- The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Mathias Lichterfeld
- Infectious Disease Division, Brigham Women's Hospital, Boston
- The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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Teixeira AR, Bittar C, Silva Santos GS, Oliveira TY, Huang AS, Linden N, Ferreira IA, Murdza T, Muecksch F, Jones RB, Caskey M, Jankovic M, Nussenzweig MC. Transcription of HIV-1 at sites of intact latent provirus integration. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.26.591331. [PMID: 38746186 PMCID: PMC11092494 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.26.591331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
HIV-1 anti-retroviral therapy is highly effective but fails to eliminate a reservoir of latent proviruses leading to a requirement for life-long treatment. How the site of integration of authentic intact latent proviruses might impact their own or neighboring gene expression or reservoir dynamics is poorly understood. Here we report on proviral and neighboring gene transcription at sites of intact latent HIV-1 integration in cultured T cells obtained directly from people living with HIV, as well as engineered primary T cells and cell lines. Proviral gene expression was correlated to the level of endogenous gene expression under resting but not activated conditions. Notably, latent proviral promoters were 10010,000X less active than in productively infected cells and had little or no measurable impact on neighboring gene expression under resting or activated conditions. Thus, the site of integration has a dominant effect on the transcriptional activity of intact HIV-1 proviruses in the latent reservoir thereby influencing cytopathic effects and proviral immune evasion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Rafaela Teixeira
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Cintia Bittar
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | | | - Thiago Y. Oliveira
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | | | - Noemi Linden
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Isabella A.T.M. Ferreira
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Tetyana Murdza
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University, Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Virology, Center for Integrative Infectious Disease Research (CIID), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Frauke Muecksch
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University, Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Virology, Center for Integrative Infectious Disease Research (CIID), Heidelberg, Germany
- Chica and Heinz Schaller (CHS) Research Group, Department of Infectious Diseases, Virology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - R. Brad Jones
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Marina Caskey
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Mila Jankovic
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Michel C. Nussenzweig
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
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6
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Mbonye U, Karn J. The cell biology of HIV-1 latency and rebound. Retrovirology 2024; 21:6. [PMID: 38580979 PMCID: PMC10996279 DOI: 10.1186/s12977-024-00639-w] [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] [Indexed: 04/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Transcriptionally latent forms of replication-competent proviruses, present primarily in a small subset of memory CD4+ T cells, pose the primary barrier to a cure for HIV-1 infection because they are the source of the viral rebound that almost inevitably follows the interruption of antiretroviral therapy. Over the last 30 years, many of the factors essential for initiating HIV-1 transcription have been identified in studies performed using transformed cell lines, such as the Jurkat T-cell model. However, as highlighted in this review, several poorly understood mechanisms still need to be elucidated, including the molecular basis for promoter-proximal pausing of the transcribing complex and the detailed mechanism of the delivery of P-TEFb from 7SK snRNP. Furthermore, the central paradox of HIV-1 transcription remains unsolved: how are the initial rounds of transcription achieved in the absence of Tat? A critical limitation of the transformed cell models is that they do not recapitulate the transitions between active effector cells and quiescent memory T cells. Therefore, investigation of the molecular mechanisms of HIV-1 latency reversal and LRA efficacy in a proper physiological context requires the utilization of primary cell models. Recent mechanistic studies of HIV-1 transcription using latently infected cells recovered from donors and ex vivo cellular models of viral latency have demonstrated that the primary blocks to HIV-1 transcription in memory CD4+ T cells are restrictive epigenetic features at the proviral promoter, the cytoplasmic sequestration of key transcription initiation factors such as NFAT and NF-κB, and the vanishingly low expression of the cellular transcription elongation factor P-TEFb. One of the foremost schemes to eliminate the residual reservoir is to deliberately reactivate latent HIV-1 proviruses to enable clearance of persisting latently infected cells-the "Shock and Kill" strategy. For "Shock and Kill" to become efficient, effective, non-toxic latency-reversing agents (LRAs) must be discovered. Since multiple restrictions limit viral reactivation in primary cells, understanding the T-cell signaling mechanisms that are essential for stimulating P-TEFb biogenesis, initiation factor activation, and reversing the proviral epigenetic restrictions have become a prerequisite for the development of more effective LRAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uri Mbonye
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA.
| | - Jonathan Karn
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA.
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7
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Mudd JC. Quantitative and Qualitative Distinctions between HIV-1 and SIV Reservoirs: Implications for HIV-1 Cure-Related Studies. Viruses 2024; 16:514. [PMID: 38675857 PMCID: PMC11054464 DOI: 10.3390/v16040514] [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: 02/02/2024] [Revised: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/16/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
The persistence of the latent viral reservoir is the main hurdle to curing HIV-1 infection. SIV infection of non-human primates (NHPs), namely Indian-origin rhesus macaques, is the most relevant and widely used animal model to evaluate therapies that seek to eradicate HIV-1. The utility of a model ultimately rests on how accurately it can recapitulate human disease, and while reservoirs in the NHP model behave quantitatively very similar to those of long-term suppressed persons with HIV-1 (PWH) in the most salient aspects, recent studies have uncovered key nuances at the clonotypic level that differentiate the two in qualitative terms. In this review, we will highlight differences relating to proviral intactness, clonotypic structure, and decay rate during ART between HIV-1 and SIV reservoirs and discuss the relevance of these distinctions in the interpretation of HIV-1 cure strategies. While these, to some degree, may reflect a unique biology of the virus or host, distinctions among the proviral landscape in SIV are likely to be shaped significantly by the condensed timeframe of NHP studies. ART is generally initiated earlier in the disease course, and animals are virologically suppressed for shorter periods before receiving interventions. Because these are experimental variables dictated by the investigator, we offer guidance on study design for cure-related studies performed in the NHP model. Finally, we highlight the case of GS-9620 (Vesatolimod), an antiviral TLR7 agonist tested in multiple independent pre-clinical studies in which virological outcomes may have been influenced by study-related variables.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph C. Mudd
- Tulane National Primate Research Center, Covington, LA 70433, USA;
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
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8
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Fenton AD, Archin N, Turner AM, Joseph S, Moeser M, Margolis DM, Browne EP. A novel high-throughput microwell outgrowth assay for HIV-infected cells. J Virol 2024; 98:e0179823. [PMID: 38376258 PMCID: PMC10949454 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01798-23] [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: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Although antiretroviral therapy (ART) is effective at suppressing HIV replication, a viral reservoir persists that can reseed infection if ART is interrupted. Curing HIV will require elimination or containment of this reservoir, but the size of the HIV reservoir is highly variable between individuals. To evaluate the size of the HIV reservoir, several assays have been developed, including PCR-based assays for viral DNA, the intact proviral DNA assay, and the quantitative viral outgrowth assay (QVOA). QVOA is the gold standard assay for measuring inducible replication-competent proviruses, but this assay is technically challenging and time-consuming. To begin progress toward a more rapid and less laborious tool for quantifying cells infected with replication-competent HIV, we developed the Microwell Outgrowth Assay, in which infected CD4 T cells are co-cultured with an HIV-detecting reporter cell line in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/polystyrene array of nanoliter-sized wells. Transmission of HIV from infected cells to the reporter cell line induces fluorescent reporter protein expression that is detected by automated scanning across the array. Using this approach, we were able to detect HIV-infected cells from ART-naïve people with HIV (PWH) and from PWH on ART with large reservoirs. Furthermore, we demonstrate that infected cells can be recovered from individual rafts and used to analyze the diversity of viral sequences. Although additional development and optimization will be required for quantifying the reservoir in PWH with small latent reservoirs, this assay may be a useful prototype for microwell assays of infected cells.IMPORTANCEMeasuring the size of the HIV reservoir in people with HIV (PWH) will be important for determining the impact of HIV cure strategies. However, measuring this reservoir is challenging. We report a new method for quantifying HIV-infected cells that involves culturing cells from PWH in an array of microwells with a cell line that detects HIV infection. We show that this approach can detect rare HIV-infected cells and derive detailed virus sequence information for each infected cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony D. Fenton
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Nancie Archin
- Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- UNC HIV Cure Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Anne-Marie Turner
- Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- UNC HIV Cure Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Sarah Joseph
- UNC HIV Cure Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Matthew Moeser
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - David M. Margolis
- Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- UNC HIV Cure Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Edward P. Browne
- Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- UNC HIV Cure Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
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9
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Roux H, Chomont N. Measuring Human Immunodeficiency Virus Reservoirs: Do We Need to Choose Between Quantity and Quality? J Infect Dis 2024; 229:635-643. [PMID: 37665978 PMCID: PMC10938203 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiad381] [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: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The persistence of latent viral genomes in people receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the main obstacle to a cure for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Viral reservoirs can be defined as cells harboring HIV genomes that have the ability to produce infectious virions. Precise quantification of the cellular reservoirs of HIV is challenging because these cells are rare, heterogeneous, and outnumbered by a larger number of cells carrying defective genomes. In addition, measuring the inducibility of these proviruses requires functional assays and remains technically difficult. The recent development of single-cell and single-viral genome approaches revealed additional layers of complexity: the cell subsets that harbor proviruses are heterogeneous and their ability to be induced is variable. A substantial fraction of intact HIV genomes may be permanently silenced after years of ART, revealing the underappreciated importance of induction assays. As such, a simple approach that would assess simultaneously the genetic intactness and the inducibility of the reservoir is still lacking. In this study, we review recent advances in the development of methods to quantify and characterize persistently infected cells, and we discuss how these findings can inform the design of future assays aimed at measuring the size of the intact and inducible HIV reservoir.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hélène Roux
- Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Nicolas Chomont
- Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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10
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Fuchs A, Wasser A, Faua C, Caspar S, Jegou F, Velay A, Laugel E, Ursenbach A, Rey D, Fafi-Kremer S, Gantner P. Comparison of HIV-1 DNA load measurements in blood and in relation to successful proviral sequencing. Infect Dis Now 2024; 54:104845. [PMID: 38103598 DOI: 10.1016/j.idnow.2023.104845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE HIV DNA sequencing is now routinely used for HIV-infected individuals on antiretroviral therapy (ART) with or without partial genotypic history. Successful amplification of HIV pol gene has yet to be correlated with HIV DNA levels. Here, we assessed the relationship between HIV DNA load and sequencing results. METHODS We analyzed three different qPCR measurements of total (LTR and LTR-gag) and integrated (Alu-LTR) HIV DNA in blood samples collected from viremic as well as virally suppressed HIV-infected individuals on ART. HIV DNA levels were compared to HIV DNA Sanger sequencing and clinical and therapeutic parameters. RESULTS Among the 135 individuals analyzed for HIV DNA measurements and sequencing, all three HIV DNA measurements were associated with HIV DNA Sanger sequencing results. A threshold of around 2 and 1.5 log copies/million leukocytes of total HIV DNA was identified for LTR and LTR-gag qPCRs, respectively. Integrated HIV DNA positivity was also associated with successful sequencing. We further compared HIV DNA measurement techniques in an extended cohort of 312 individuals and showed that all measurements correlated between the different techniques, regardless of the HIV-1 subtypes analyzed. However, higher detection rates were observed with LTR (96%) compared to LTR-gag (86%) and Alu-LTR (59%) qPCRs. Duration of virological control on ART and CD4 nadir were the main determinants of HIV reservoir size. CONCLUSIONS HIV DNA measurement is associated with Sanger sequencing success, regardless of the technique used. In a clinical setting, Application of HIV DNA quantification before sequencing should be further evaluated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Fuchs
- Clinical Virology Laboratory, Strasbourg University Hospital, Strasbourg, France
| | - Antoine Wasser
- Clinical Virology Laboratory, Strasbourg University Hospital, Strasbourg, France
| | - Clayton Faua
- INSERM UMR_S1109, Strasbourg University, Strasbourg, France
| | - Stéphanie Caspar
- Clinical Virology Laboratory, Strasbourg University Hospital, Strasbourg, France
| | - Frédéric Jegou
- Clinical Virology Laboratory, Strasbourg University Hospital, Strasbourg, France
| | - Aurélie Velay
- Clinical Virology Laboratory, Strasbourg University Hospital, Strasbourg, France; INSERM UMR_S1109, Strasbourg University, Strasbourg, France
| | - Elodie Laugel
- Clinical Virology Laboratory, Strasbourg University Hospital, Strasbourg, France; INSERM UMR_S1109, Strasbourg University, Strasbourg, France
| | - Axel Ursenbach
- Le Trait d'Union, HIV-Infection Care Center, Strasbourg University Hospital, Strasbourg, France
| | - David Rey
- Le Trait d'Union, HIV-Infection Care Center, Strasbourg University Hospital, Strasbourg, France
| | - Samira Fafi-Kremer
- Clinical Virology Laboratory, Strasbourg University Hospital, Strasbourg, France; INSERM UMR_S1109, Strasbourg University, Strasbourg, France
| | - Pierre Gantner
- Clinical Virology Laboratory, Strasbourg University Hospital, Strasbourg, France; INSERM UMR_S1109, Strasbourg University, Strasbourg, France.
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11
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Ranga U, Panchapakesan A, Saini C. HIV-1 subtypes and latent reservoirs. Curr Opin HIV AIDS 2024; 19:87-92. [PMID: 38169308 DOI: 10.1097/coh.0000000000000835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW We explore the current status of research on HIV-1 subtype-specific variations and their impact on HIV-1 latency. We also briefly address the controversy surrounding the decision-making process governing the ON/OFF states of HIV-1 transcription, specifically focusing on the regulatory elements, the long terminal repeat (LTR), and Tat. Understanding the decision-making process is crucial for developing effective intervention strategies, such as the 'shock-and-kill' approach, to reactivate latent HIV-1. RECENT FINDINGS Attention has been drawn to subtype-specific transcription factor binding site (TFBS) variations and the possible impact of these variations on viral latency. Further, diverse subtype-specific assays have been developed to quantify the latent viral reservoirs. One interesting observation is the relatively larger latent reservoirs in HIV-1B infection than those of other viral subtypes, which needs rigorous validation. The emergence of LTR-variant viral strains in HIV-1C demonstrating significantly higher levels of latency reversal has been reported. SUMMARY Despite persistent and substantial efforts, latent HIV-1 remains a formidable challenge to a functional cure. Determined and continued commitment is needed to understand the ON/OFF decision-making process of HIV-1 latency, develop rigorous assays for accurately quantifying the latent reservoirs, and identify potent latency-reversing agents and cocktails targeting multiple latency stages. The review emphasizes the importance of including diverse viral subtypes in future latency research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Udaykumar Ranga
- HIV-AIDS Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Jakkur, Bangalore, Karnataka
| | - Arun Panchapakesan
- Molecular Biology Laboratory, Y R Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education (YRG CARE), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Chhavi Saini
- HIV-AIDS Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Jakkur, Bangalore, Karnataka
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12
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Buchholtz NVEJ, Nühn MM, de Jong TCM, Stienstra TAT, Reddy K, Ndung'u T, Ndhlovu ZM, Fisher K, Palmer S, Wensing AMJ, Symons J, Nijhuis M. Development of a highly sensitive and specific intact proviral DNA assay for HIV-1 subtype B and C. Virol J 2024; 21:36. [PMID: 38297379 PMCID: PMC10832250 DOI: 10.1186/s12985-024-02300-6] [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: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION HIV reservoir quantification is essential for evaluation of HIV curative strategies and may provide valuable insights about reservoir dynamics during antiretroviral therapy. The Intact Proviral DNA Assay (IPDA) provides the unique opportunity to quantify the intact and defective reservoir. The current IPDA is optimized for HIV-1 subtype B, the dominant subtype in resource-rich settings. However, subtype C is dominant in Sub-Saharan Africa, jointly accounting for around 60% of the pandemic. We developed an assay capable of quantifying intact and defective proviral HIV-1 DNA of subtype B and C. METHODS Primer and probe sequences were strategically positioned at conserved regions in psi and env and adapted to subtype B&C. In silico analysis of 752 subtype B and 697 subtype C near-full length genome sequences (nFGS) was performed to predict the specificity and sensitivity. Gblocks were used to determine the limit of blank (LoB), limit of detection (LoD), and different annealing temperatures were tested to address impact of sequence variability. RESULTS The in silico analysis showed that the HIV-1 B&C IPDA correctly identified 100% of the intact subtype B, and 86% of the subtype C sequences. In contrast, the original IPDA identified 86% and 12% of these subtype B and C sequences as intact. Furthermore, the HIV-1 B&C IPDA correctly identified hypermutated (87% and 88%) and other defective sequences (73% and 66%) for subtype B and C with comparable specificity as the original IPDA for subtype B (59% and 63%). Subtype B cis-acting sequences were more frequently identified as intact by the HIV-1 B&C IPDA compared to the original IPDA (39% and 2%). The LoB for intact proviral DNA copies was 0, and the LoD for intact proviral DNA copies was 6 (> 95% certainty) at 60 °C. Quantification of 2-6 copies can be performed with > 80% certainty. Lowering the annealing temperature to 55 °C slightly lowered the specificity but prevented exclusion of samples with single mutations in the primer/probe region. CONCLUSIONS We developed a robust and sensitive assay for the quantification of intact and defective HIV-1 subtype B and C proviral DNA, making this a suitable tool to monitor the impact of (large-scale) curative interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- N V E J Buchholtz
- Translational Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584C, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - M M Nühn
- Translational Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584C, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - T C M de Jong
- Translational Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584C, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - T A T Stienstra
- Translational Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584C, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - K Reddy
- Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa
| | - T 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
- The Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 01238, USA
- Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London, UK
| | - Z M Ndhlovu
- Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa
| | - K Fisher
- Centre for Virus Research, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - S Palmer
- Centre for Virus Research, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - A M J Wensing
- Translational Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584C, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- ha, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - J Symons
- Translational Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584C, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - M Nijhuis
- Translational Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584C, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- HIV Pathogenesis Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
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13
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Cossarini F, Aberg JA, Chen BK, Mehandru S. Viral Persistence in the Gut-Associated Lymphoid Tissue and Barriers to HIV Cure. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2023; 40:54-65. [PMID: 37450338 PMCID: PMC10790554 DOI: 10.1089/aid.2022.0180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/18/2023] Open
Abstract
More than 40 years after the first reported cases of what then became known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), tremendous progress has been achieved in transforming the disease from almost universally fatal to a chronic manageable condition. Nonetheless, the efforts to find a preventative vaccine or a cure for the underlying infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) remain largely unsuccessful. Many challenges intrinsic to the virus characteristics and host response need to be overcome for either goal to be achieved. This article will review the obstacles to an effective HIV cure, specifically the steps involved in the generation of HIV latency, focusing on the role of the gut-associated lymphoid tissue, which has received less attention compared with the peripheral blood, despite being the largest repository of lymphoid tissue in the human body, and a large site for HIV persistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Cossarini
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Icahn School at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Judith A. Aberg
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Icahn School at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Benjamin K. Chen
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Icahn School at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Saurabh Mehandru
- Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Icahn School at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
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14
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Barton K, Ferguson JM, Deveson IW, Falcinelli SD, James KS, Kirchherr J, Ramirez C, Gay CL, Hammond JM, Bevear B, Carswell SL, Margolis DM, Smith MA, Adimora AA, Archin NM. HIVepsilon-seq-scalable characterization of intact persistent proviral HIV reservoirs in women. J Virol 2023; 97:e0070523. [PMID: 37843370 PMCID: PMC10688329 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00705-23] [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: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE The lack of a reliable method to accurately detect when replication-competent HIV has been cleared is a major challenge in developing a cure. This study introduces a new approach called the HIVepsilon-seq (HIVε-seq) assay, which uses long-read sequencing technology and bioinformatics to scrutinize the HIV genome at the nucleotide level, distinguishing between defective and intact HIV. This study included 30 participants on antiretroviral therapy, including 17 women, and was able to discriminate between defective and genetically intact viruses at the single DNA strand level. The HIVε-seq assay is an improvement over previous methods, as it requires minimal sample, less specialized lab equipment, and offers a shorter turnaround time. The HIVε-seq assay offers a promising new tool for researchers to measure the intact HIV reservoir, advancing efforts towards finding a cure for this devastating disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirston Barton
- The Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
- Serology and Virology Division (SAViD), NSW Health Pathology, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
| | - James M. Ferguson
- The Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ira W. Deveson
- The Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Shane D. Falcinelli
- Department of Microbiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- UNC HIV Cure Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Katherine S. James
- UNC HIV Cure Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Jennifer Kirchherr
- UNC HIV Cure Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Catalina Ramirez
- Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Cynthia L. Gay
- Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Jillian M. Hammond
- The Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Brent Bevear
- The Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Shaun L. Carswell
- The Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - David M. Margolis
- Department of Microbiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- UNC HIV Cure Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Martin A. Smith
- The Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre, Montreal, Canada
| | - Adaora A. Adimora
- Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Nancie M. Archin
- UNC HIV Cure Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
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15
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Lambrechts L, Bonine N, Verstraeten R, Pardons M, Noppe Y, Rutsaert S, Van Nieuwerburgh F, Van Criekinge W, Cole B, Vandekerckhove L. HIV-PULSE: a long-read sequencing assay for high-throughput near full-length HIV-1 proviral genome characterization. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:e102. [PMID: 37819007 PMCID: PMC10639044 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2023] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023] Open
Abstract
A deep understanding of the composition of the HIV-1 reservoir is necessary for the development of targeted therapies and the evaluation of curative efforts. However, current near full-length (NFL) HIV-1 proviral genome sequencing assays are based on labor-intensive and costly principles of repeated PCRs at limiting dilution, restricting their scalability. To address this, we developed a high-throughput, long-read sequencing assay called HIV-PULSE (HIV Proviral UMI-mediated Long-read Sequencing). This assay uses unique molecular identifiers (UMIs) to tag individual HIV-1 genomes, allowing for the omission of the limiting dilution step and enabling long-range PCR amplification of many NFL genomes in a single PCR reaction, while simultaneously overcoming poor single-read accuracy. We optimized the assay using HIV-infected cell lines and then applied it to blood samples from 18 individuals living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy, yielding a total of 1308 distinct HIV-1 genomes. Benchmarking against the widely applied Full-Length Individual Proviral Sequencing assay revealed similar sensitivity (11 vs 18%) and overall good concordance, although at a significantly higher throughput. In conclusion, HIV-PULSE is a cost-efficient and scalable assay that allows for the characterization of the HIV-1 proviral landscape, making it an attractive method to study the HIV-1 reservoir composition and dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurens Lambrechts
- HIV Cure Research Center, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
- BioBix, Department of Data Analysis and Mathematical Modelling, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Noah Bonine
- HIV Cure Research Center, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
- BioBix, Department of Data Analysis and Mathematical Modelling, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Rita Verstraeten
- HIV Cure Research Center, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
- BioBix, Department of Data Analysis and Mathematical Modelling, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Marion Pardons
- HIV Cure Research Center, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Ytse Noppe
- HIV Cure Research Center, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Sofie Rutsaert
- HIV Cure Research Center, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Filip Van Nieuwerburgh
- Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Wim Van Criekinge
- BioBix, Department of Data Analysis and Mathematical Modelling, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Basiel Cole
- HIV Cure Research Center, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Linos Vandekerckhove
- HIV Cure Research Center, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
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16
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Sambaturu N, Fray EJ, Wu F, Zitzmann C, Simonetti FR, Barouch DH, Siliciano JD, Siliciano RF, Ribeiro RM, Perelson AS, Molina-París C, Leitner T. Last in first out: SIV proviruses seeded later in infection are harbored in short-lived CD4 + T cells. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.11.03.565539. [PMID: 37961482 PMCID: PMC10635124 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.03.565539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
HIV can persist in a latent form as integrated DNA (provirus) in resting CD4+ T cells of infected individuals and as such is unaffected by antiretroviral therapy (ART). Despite being a major obstacle for eradication efforts, the genetic variation and timing of formation of this latent reservoir remains poorly understood. Previous studies on when virus is deposited in the latent reservoir have come to contradictory conclusions. To reexamine the genetic variation of HIV in CD4+ T cells during ART, we determined the divergence in envelope sequences collected from 10 SIV infected rhesus macaques. We found that the macaques displayed a biphasic decline of the viral divergence over time, where the first phase lasted for an average of 11.6 weeks (range 4-28 weeks). Motivated by recent observations that the HIV-infected CD4+ T cell population is composed of short- and long-lived subsets, we developed a model to study the divergence dynamics. We found that SIV in short-lived cells was on average more diverged, while long-lived cells harbored less diverged virus. This suggests that the long-lived cells harbor virus deposited starting earlier in infection and continuing throughout infection, while short-lived cells predominantly harbor more recent virus. As these cell populations decayed, the overall proviral divergence decline matched that observed in the empirical data. This model explains previous seemingly contradictory results on the timing of virus deposition into the latent reservoir, and should provide guidance for future eradication efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Narmada Sambaturu
- Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545
| | - Emily J Fray
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205
| | - Fengting Wu
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205
| | - Carolin Zitzmann
- Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545
| | - Francesco R Simonetti
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205
| | - Dan H Barouch
- Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Janet D Siliciano
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205
| | - Robert F Siliciano
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Ruy M Ribeiro
- Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545
| | - Alan S Perelson
- Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545
| | - Carmen Molina-París
- Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545
| | - Thomas Leitner
- Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545
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17
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Zhao L, Lythgoe KA. The social role of defective viral genomes in chronic viral infections: a commentary on Leeks et al. 2023. J Evol Biol 2023; 36:1577-1581. [PMID: 37975505 PMCID: PMC10880559 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Lele Zhao
- Big Data Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, Nuffield Department of MedicineUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
- Pandemic Sciences Institute, Nuffield Department for MedicineUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - Katrina A. Lythgoe
- Big Data Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, Nuffield Department of MedicineUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
- Pandemic Sciences Institute, Nuffield Department for MedicineUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
- Department of BiologyUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
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18
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Gunst JD, Højen JF, Pahus MH, Rosás-Umbert M, Stiksrud B, McMahon JH, Denton PW, Nielsen H, Johansen IS, Benfield T, Leth S, Gerstoft J, Østergaard L, Schleimann MH, Olesen R, Støvring H, Vibholm L, Weis N, Dyrhol-Riise AM, Pedersen KBH, Lau JSY, Copertino DC, Linden N, Huynh TT, Ramos V, Jones RB, Lewin SR, Tolstrup M, Rasmussen TA, Nussenzweig MC, Caskey M, Reikvam DH, Søgaard OS. Impact of a TLR9 agonist and broadly neutralizing antibodies on HIV-1 persistence: the randomized phase 2a TITAN trial. Nat Med 2023; 29:2547-2558. [PMID: 37696935 PMCID: PMC10579101 DOI: 10.1038/s41591-023-02547-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023]
Abstract
Inducing antiretroviral therapy (ART)-free virological control is a critical step toward a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) cure. In this phase 2a, placebo-controlled, double-blinded trial, 43 people (85% males) with HIV-1 on ART were randomized to (1) placebo/placebo, (2) lefitolimod (TLR9 agonist)/placebo, (3) placebo/broadly neutralizing anti-HIV-1 antibodies (bNAbs) or (4) lefitolimod/bNAb. ART interruption (ATI) started at week 3. Lefitolimod was administered once weekly for the first 8 weeks, and bNAbs were administered twice, 1 d before and 3 weeks after ATI. The primary endpoint was time to loss of virologic control after ATI. The median delay in time to loss of virologic control compared to the placebo/placebo group was 0.5 weeks (P = 0.49), 12.5 weeks (P = 0.003) and 9.5 weeks (P = 0.004) in the lefitolimod/placebo, placebo/bNAb and lefitolimod/bNAb groups, respectively. Among secondary endpoints, viral doubling time was slower for bNAb groups compared to non-bNAb groups, and the interventions were overall safe. We observed no added benefit of lefitolimod. Despite subtherapeutic plasma bNAb levels, 36% (4/11) in the placebo/bNAb group compared to 0% (0/10) in the placebo/placebo group maintained virologic control after the 25-week ATI. Although immunotherapy with lefitolimod did not lead to ART-free HIV-1 control, bNAbs may be important components in future HIV-1 curative strategies. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03837756 .
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesper D Gunst
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Jesper F Højen
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Marie H Pahus
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Miriam Rosás-Umbert
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Birgitte Stiksrud
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - James H McMahon
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Paul W Denton
- Department of Biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Henrik Nielsen
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Isik S Johansen
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Odense University Hospital, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Thomas Benfield
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Steffen Leth
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Internal Medicine, Gødstrup Hospital, Gødstrup, Denmark
| | - Jan Gerstoft
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Viro-Immunology Research Unit, Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Lars Østergaard
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Mariane H Schleimann
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Rikke Olesen
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Henrik Støvring
- Department of Public Health, Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Line Vibholm
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Nina Weis
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anne M Dyrhol-Riise
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Karen B H Pedersen
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jillian S Y Lau
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Victorian Infectious Diseases Service, Royal Melbourne Hospital at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Dennis C Copertino
- Infectious Diseases Division, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY, USA
| | - Noemi Linden
- Infectious Diseases Division, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY, USA
| | - Tan T Huynh
- Infectious Diseases Division, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY, USA
| | - Victor Ramos
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - R Brad Jones
- Infectious Diseases Division, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sharon R Lewin
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Victorian Infectious Diseases Service, Royal Melbourne Hospital at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Martin Tolstrup
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Thomas A Rasmussen
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - 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
| | - Marina Caskey
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Dag Henrik Reikvam
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ole S Søgaard
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
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19
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Arandjelovic P, Kim Y, Cooney JP, Preston SP, Doerflinger M, McMahon JH, Garner SE, Zerbato JM, Roche M, Tumpach C, Ong J, Sheerin D, Smyth GK, Anderson JL, Allison CC, Lewin SR, Pellegrini M. Venetoclax, alone and in combination with the BH3 mimetic S63845, depletes HIV-1 latently infected cells and delays rebound in humanized mice. Cell Rep Med 2023; 4:101178. [PMID: 37652018 PMCID: PMC10518630 DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023]
Abstract
HIV-1 persists indefinitely in people living with HIV (PLWH) on antiretroviral therapy (ART). If ART is stopped, the virus rapidly rebounds from long-lived latently infected cells. Using a humanized mouse model of HIV-1 infection and CD4+ T cells from PLWH on ART, we investigate whether antagonizing host pro-survival proteins can prime latent cells to die and facilitate HIV-1 clearance. Venetoclax, a pro-apoptotic inhibitor of Bcl-2, depletes total and intact HIV-1 DNA in CD4+ T cells from PLWH ex vivo. This venetoclax-sensitive population is enriched for cells with transcriptionally higher levels of pro-apoptotic BH3-only proteins. Furthermore, venetoclax delays viral rebound in a mouse model of persistent HIV-1 infection, and the combination of venetoclax with the Mcl-1 inhibitor S63845 achieves a longer delay in rebound compared with either intervention alone. Thus, selective inhibition of pro-survival proteins can induce death of HIV-1-infected cells that persist on ART, extending time to viral rebound.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Arandjelovic
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immune Defence, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Youry Kim
- Department of Infectious Diseases, The University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - James P Cooney
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immune Defence, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Simon P Preston
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immune Defence, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Marcel Doerflinger
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immune Defence, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - James H McMahon
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Alfred Hospital and Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Sarah E Garner
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immune Defence, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Jennifer M Zerbato
- Department of Infectious Diseases, The University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Michael Roche
- Department of Infectious Diseases, The University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Emerging Infections Program, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Carolin Tumpach
- Department of Infectious Diseases, The University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Jesslyn Ong
- Department of Infectious Diseases, The University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Dylan Sheerin
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immune Defence, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Gordon K Smyth
- Bioinformatics Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Jenny L Anderson
- Department of Infectious Diseases, The University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Cody C Allison
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immune Defence, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Sharon R Lewin
- Department of Infectious Diseases, The University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Infectious Diseases, Alfred Hospital and Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Victorian Infectious Diseases Service, The Royal Melbourne Hospital at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Marc Pellegrini
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immune Defence, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
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20
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Dubé M, Tastet O, Dufour C, Sannier G, Brassard N, Delgado GG, Pagliuzza A, Richard C, Nayrac M, Routy JP, Prat A, Estes JD, Fromentin R, Chomont N, Kaufmann DE. Spontaneous HIV expression during suppressive ART is associated with the magnitude and function of HIV-specific CD4 + and CD8 + T cells. Cell Host Microbe 2023; 31:1507-1522.e5. [PMID: 37708853 PMCID: PMC10542967 DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2023.08.006] [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: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
Spontaneous transcription and translation of HIV can persist during suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART). The quantity, phenotype, and biological relevance of this spontaneously "active" reservoir remain unclear. Using multiplexed single-cell RNAflow-fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), we detect active HIV transcription in 14/18 people with HIV on suppressive ART, with a median of 28/million CD4+ T cells. While these cells predominantly exhibit abortive transcription, p24-expressing cells are evident in 39% of participants. Phenotypically diverse, active reservoirs are enriched in central memory T cells and CCR6- and activation-marker-expressing cells. The magnitude of the active reservoir positively correlates with total HIV-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses and with multiple HIV-specific T cell clusters identified by unsupervised analysis. These associations are particularly strong with p24-expressing active reservoir cells. Single-cell vDNA sequencing shows that active reservoirs are largely dominated by defective proviruses. Our data suggest that these reservoirs maintain HIV-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T responses during suppressive ART.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu Dubé
- Department of Immunopathology, Research Centre of the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada.
| | - Olivier Tastet
- Department of Immunopathology, Research Centre of the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
| | - Caroline Dufour
- Department of Immunopathology, Research Centre of the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Gérémy Sannier
- Department of Immunopathology, Research Centre of the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Nathalie Brassard
- Department of Immunopathology, Research Centre of the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
| | - Gloria-Gabrielle Delgado
- Department of Immunopathology, Research Centre of the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
| | - Amélie Pagliuzza
- Department of Immunopathology, Research Centre of the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
| | - Corentin Richard
- Department of Immunopathology, Research Centre of the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
| | - Manon Nayrac
- Department of Immunopathology, Research Centre of the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
| | - Jean-Pierre Routy
- Chronic Viral Illnesses Service and Division of Hematology, McGill University Health Centre (CUSM), Montreal, QC H4A 3J1, Canada; Infectious Diseases and Immunity in Global Health Program, Research Institute, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC H4A 3J1, Canada
| | - Alexandre Prat
- Department of Immunopathology, Research Centre of the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Department of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Jacob D Estes
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR 97006, USA; Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR 97006, USA
| | - Rémi Fromentin
- Department of Immunopathology, Research Centre of the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
| | - Nicolas Chomont
- Department of Immunopathology, Research Centre of the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Daniel E Kaufmann
- Department of Immunopathology, Research Centre of the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
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21
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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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22
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Kuzmichev YV, Lackman-Smith C, Bakkour S, Wiegand A, Bale MJ, Musick A, Bernstein W, Aronson N, Ake J, Tovanabutra S, Stone M, Ptak RG, Kearney MF, Busch MP, Wonderlich ER, Kulpa DA. Application of ultrasensitive digital ELISA for p24 enables improved evaluation of HIV-1 reservoir diversity and growth kinetics in viral outgrowth assays. Sci Rep 2023; 13:10958. [PMID: 37414788 PMCID: PMC10326067 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37223-9] [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: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The advent of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) has been instrumental in controlling HIV-1 replication and transmission and decreasing associated morbidity and mortality. However, cART alone is not able to cure HIV-1 due to the presence of long-lived, latently infected immune cells, which re-seed plasma viremia when cART is interrupted. Assessment of HIV-cure strategies using ex vivo culture methods for further understanding of the diversity of reactivated HIV, viral outgrowth, and replication dynamics are enhanced using ultrasensitive digital ELISA based on single-molecule array (Simoa) technology to increase the sensitivity of endpoint detection. In viral outgrowth assays (VOA), exponential HIV-1 outgrowth has been shown to be dependent upon initial virus burst size surpassing a critical growth threshold of 5100 HIV-1 RNA copies. Here, we show an association between ultrasensitive HIV-1 Gag p24 concentrations and HIV-1 RNA copy number that characterize viral dynamics below the exponential replication threshold. Single-genome sequencing (SGS) revealed the presence of multiple identical HIV-1 sequences, indicative of low-level replication occurring below the threshold of exponential outgrowth early during a VOA. However, SGS further revealed diverse related HIV variants detectable by ultrasensitive methods that failed to establish exponential outgrowth. Overall, our data suggest that viral outgrowth occurring below the threshold necessary for establishing exponential growth in culture does not preclude replication competence of reactivated HIV, and ultrasensitive detection of HIV-1 p24 may provide a method to detect previously unquantifiable variants. These data strongly support the use of the Simoa platform in a multi-prong approach to measuring latent viral burden and efficacy of therapeutic interventions aimed at an HIV-1 cure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yury V Kuzmichev
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- Department of Infectious Disease Research, Southern Research, Frederick, MD, USA.
| | - Carol Lackman-Smith
- Department of Infectious Disease Research, Southern Research, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Sonia Bakkour
- Vitalant Research Institute, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Ann Wiegand
- HIV Dynamics and Replication Program, NCI at Frederick, NIH, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Michael J Bale
- HIV Dynamics and Replication Program, NCI at Frederick, NIH, Frederick, MD, USA
- Laboratory of Epigenetics and Immunity, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Andrew Musick
- HIV Dynamics and Replication Program, NCI at Frederick, NIH, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Wendy Bernstein
- Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, USA
- Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Naomi Aronson
- Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, USA
- Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Julie Ake
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, USA
| | - Sodsai Tovanabutra
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, USA
| | - Mars Stone
- Vitalant Research Institute, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Roger G Ptak
- Department of Infectious Disease Research, Southern Research, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Mary F Kearney
- HIV Dynamics and Replication Program, NCI at Frederick, NIH, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Michael P Busch
- Vitalant Research Institute, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - Deanna A Kulpa
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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23
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Wu Y, Fu Y, Guo J, Guo J. Single-molecule immunoassay technology: Recent advances. Talanta 2023; 265:124903. [PMID: 37418954 DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2023.124903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Revised: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/01/2023] [Indexed: 07/09/2023]
Abstract
Detecting diseases at the molecular level aids in early diagnosis and treatment. However, traditional immunological detection techniques, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and chemiluminescence, have detection sensitivities between 10-16 and 10-12 mol/L, which are inadequate for early diagnosis. Single-molecule immunoassays can reach detection sensitivities of 10-18 mol/L and can detect biomarkers that are difficult to measure using conventional detection techniques. It can confine molecules to be detected in a small spatial area and provide absolute counting of the detected signal, offering the advantage of high efficiency and accuracy. Herein, we demonstrate the principles and equipment of two single-molecule immunoassay techniques and discuss their applications. It is shown that the detection sensitivity can be improved by 2-3 orders of magnitude compared to common chemiluminescence or ELISA assays. The microarray-based single-molecule immunoassay technique can test 66 samples in 1 h, which is more efficient than conventional immunological detection techniques. In contrast, microdroplet-based single-molecule immunoassay techniques can generate 107 droplets in 10 min, which is more than 100 times faster than a single droplet generator. By comparing the two single-molecule immunoassay techniques, we highlight our personal perspectives on the current limitations of point-of-care applications and future development trends.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Wu
- University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Yusheng Fu
- University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Jiuchuan Guo
- University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
| | - Jinhong Guo
- School of Sensing Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China; The M.O.E. Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medical Diagnostics, The College of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, #1 Yixueyuan Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, 400016, China.
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24
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Lynch RM, Bar KJ. Development of screening assays for use of broadly neutralizing antibodies in people with HIV. Curr Opin HIV AIDS 2023; 18:171-177. [PMID: 37265260 DOI: 10.1097/coh.0000000000000798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Treatment with combinations of complementary broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) has increased the proportion of participants for whom bnAbs can maintain virus suppression upon cessation of antiretroviral therapy (ART). There remains, however, a population of trial participants who experience virus rebound despite high plasma concentrations of bnAbs. Thus, baseline resistance remains a critical barrier to the efficacy of bnAbs for use in the treatment and cure of HIV, and the development of a screening assay to guide bnAb selection is a high priority. RECENT FINDINGS There are two conceptual approaches to assess the putative rebound-competent HIV-1 reservoir for bnAb sensitivity: to assess neutralization sensitivity of reactivated virus in outgrowth assays and sequence-based approaches that include a selection for intact genomes and assessment of known resistance mutations within the env gene. Currently, the only phenotypic assay for bnAb screening that is clinical laboratory improvement amendments certified (CLIA certified) and available for clinical trial use is Monogram Biosciences' PhenoSense HIV Neutralizing Antibody Assay. SUMMARY Several new approaches for screening are currently under development and future screening methods must address three issues. First, complete sampling of the reservoir may be impossible, and determination of the relevance of partial sampling is needed. Second, multiple lines of evidence indicate that in vitro neutralization measures are at least one correlate of in vivo bnAb activity that should be included in screening, but more research is needed on how to use in vitro neutralization assays and other measures of antibody functions and measures of other antibody features. Third, the feasibility of screening assays must be a priority. A feasible, predictive bnAb screening assay will remain relevant until a time when bnAb combinations are substantially more broad and potent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca M Lynch
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Katharine J Bar
- Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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25
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Sanders-Beer BE, Archin NM, Brumme ZL, Busch MP, Deleage C, O'Doherty U, Hughes SH, Jerome KR, Jones RB, Karn J, Kearney MF, Keele BF, Kulpa DA, Laird GM, Li JZ, Lichterfeld MD, Nussenzweig MC, Persaud D, Yukl SA, Siliciano RF, Mellors JW. Current HIV/SIV Reservoir Assays for Preclinical and Clinical Applications: Recommendations from the Experts 2022 NIAID Workshop Summary. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2023; 40:7-21. [PMID: 37126090 DOI: 10.1089/aid.2022.0188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Since the first HIV-cured person was reported in 2009, a strong interest in developing highly sensitive HIV and SIV reservoir assays has emerged. In particular, the question arose about the comparative value of state-of-the-art assays to measure and characterize the HIV reservoir, and how these assays can be applied to accurately detect changes in the reservoir during efforts to develop a cure for HIV infection. Second, it is important to consider the impact on the outcome of clinical trials if these relatively new HIV reservoir assays are incorporated into clinical trial endpoints and/or used for clinical decision-making. To understand the advantages and limitations and the regulatory implications of HIV reservoir assays, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) sponsored and convened a meeting on September 16, 2022, to discuss the state of knowledge concerning these questions and best practices for selecting HIV reservoir assays for a particular research question or clinical trial protocol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brigitte E Sanders-Beer
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Nancie M Archin
- Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Zabrina L Brumme
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Michael P Busch
- Vitalant Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Claire Deleage
- AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR), Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Una O'Doherty
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Stephen H Hughes
- HIV Dynamics and Replication Program, CCR, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Keith R Jerome
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - R Brad Jones
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - Jonathan Karn
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Mary F Kearney
- HIV Dynamics and Replication Program, CCR, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Brandon F Keele
- AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR), Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Deanna A Kulpa
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | | | - Jonathan Z Li
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Mathias D Lichterfeld
- Brigham and Women's Hospital and Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Michel C Nussenzweig
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Deborah Persaud
- Department of Pediatric Infectious Disease, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Steven A Yukl
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Robert F Siliciano
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - John W Mellors
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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26
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Pasternak AO, Berkhout B. HIV persistence: silence or resistance? Curr Opin Virol 2023; 59:101301. [PMID: 36805974 DOI: 10.1016/j.coviro.2023.101301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2022] [Revised: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 02/19/2023]
Abstract
Despite decades of suppressive antiretroviral therapy, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reservoirs in infected individuals persist and fuel viral rebound once therapy is interrupted. The persistence of viral reservoirs is the main obstacle to achieving HIV eradication or a long-term remission. The last decade has seen a profound change in our understanding of the mechanisms behind HIV persistence, which appears to be much more complex than originally assumed. In addition to the persistence of transcriptionally silent proviruses in a stable latent reservoir that is invisible to the immune system, HIV is increasingly recognized to persist by resistance to the immune clearance, which appears to play a surprisingly prominent role in shaping the reservoir. In this review, we discuss some emerging insights into the mechanisms of HIV persistence, as well as their implications for the development of strategies towards an HIV cure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander O Pasternak
- Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Ben Berkhout
- Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Zhang X, Chen J. HIV Reservoir: How to Measure It? Curr HIV/AIDS Rep 2023; 20:29-41. [PMID: 37004676 DOI: 10.1007/s11904-023-00653-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 04/04/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSEOF REVIEW In the current quest for a complete cure for HIV/AIDS, the persistence of a long-lived reservoir of cells carrying replication-competent proviruses is the major challenge. Here, we describe the main elements and characteristics of several widely used assays of HIV latent reservoir detection. RECENT FINDINGS To date, researchers have developed several different HIV latent reservoir detection assays. Among them, the in vitro quantitative viral outgrowth assay (QVOA) has been the gold standard for assessing latent HIV-1 viral load. The intact proviral DNA assay (IPDA) based on PCR also demonstrated the predominance of defective viruses. However, these assays all have some drawbacks and may still be inadequate in detecting the presence of ultralow levels of latent virus in many patients who were initially thought to have been cured, but eventually showed viral rebound. An accurate and precise measurement of the HIV reservoir is therefore needed to evaluate curative strategies, aimed to functional cure or sterilizing cure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyu Zhang
- Scientific Research Center, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jun Chen
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
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Dufour C, Richard C, Pardons M, Massanella M, Ackaoui A, Murrell B, Routy B, Thomas R, Routy JP, Fromentin R, Chomont N. Phenotypic characterization of single CD4+ T cells harboring genetically intact and inducible HIV genomes. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1115. [PMID: 36849523 PMCID: PMC9971253 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36772-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The phenotype of the rare HIV-infected cells persisting during antiretroviral therapies (ART) remains elusive. We developed a single-cell approach that combines the phenotypic analysis of HIV-infected cells with near full-length sequencing of their associated proviruses to characterize the viral reservoir in 6 male individuals on suppressive ART. We show that individual cells carrying clonally expanded identical proviruses display very diverse phenotypes, indicating that cellular proliferation contributes to the phenotypic diversification of the HIV reservoir. Unlike most viral genomes persisting on ART, inducible and translation-competent proviruses rarely present large deletions but are enriched in defects in the Ψ locus. Interestingly, the few cells harboring genetically intact and inducible viral genomes express higher levels of the integrin VLA-4 compared to uninfected cells or cells with defective proviruses. Viral outgrowth assay confirmed that memory CD4+ T cells expressing high levels of VLA-4 are highly enriched in replication-competent HIV (27-fold enrichment). We conclude that although clonal expansions diversify the phenotype of HIV reservoir cells, CD4+ T cells harboring replication-competent HIV retain VLA-4 expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Dufour
- Centre de Recherche du CHUM and Department of Microbiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, H2X 0A9, Quebec, Canada
| | - Corentin Richard
- Centre de Recherche du CHUM and Department of Microbiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, H2X 0A9, Quebec, Canada
| | - Marion Pardons
- Centre de Recherche du CHUM and Department of Microbiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, H2X 0A9, Quebec, Canada
| | - Marta Massanella
- Centre de Recherche du CHUM and Department of Microbiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, H2X 0A9, Quebec, Canada
| | - Antoine Ackaoui
- Centre de Recherche du CHUM and Department of Microbiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, H2X 0A9, Quebec, Canada
| | - Ben Murrell
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 171 77, Sweden
| | - Bertrand Routy
- Centre de Recherche du CHUM and Department of Microbiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, H2X 0A9, Quebec, Canada
| | - Réjean Thomas
- Clinique médicale l'Actuel, Montreal, H2L 4P9, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jean-Pierre Routy
- Division of Hematology & Chronic Viral Illness Service, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, H4A 3J1, Quebec, Canada
| | - Rémi Fromentin
- Centre de Recherche du CHUM and Department of Microbiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, H2X 0A9, Quebec, Canada
| | - Nicolas Chomont
- Centre de Recherche du CHUM and Department of Microbiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, H2X 0A9, Quebec, Canada.
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Khetan P, Liu Y, Dhummakupt A, Persaud D. Advances in Pediatric HIV-1 Cure Therapies and Reservoir Assays. Viruses 2022; 14:v14122608. [PMID: 36560612 PMCID: PMC9787749 DOI: 10.3390/v14122608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Significant advances in the field of HIV-1 therapeutics to achieve antiretroviral treatment (ART)-free remission and cure for persons living with HIV-1 are being made with the advent of broadly neutralizing antibodies and very early ART in perinatal infection. The need for HIV-1 remission and cure arises due to the inability of ART to eradicate the major reservoir for HIV-1 in resting memory CD4+ T cells (the latent reservoir), and the strict adherence to lifelong treatment. To measure the efficacy of these cure interventions on reservoir size and to dissect reservoir dynamics, assays that are sensitive and specific to intact proviruses are critical. In this review, we provided a broad overview of some of the key interventions underway to purge the reservoir in adults living with HIV-1 and ones under study in pediatric populations to reduce and control the latent reservoir, primarily focusing on very early treatment in combination with broadly neutralizing antibodies. We also summarized assays currently in use to measure HIV-1 reservoirs and their feasibility and considerations for studies in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priya Khetan
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Yufeng Liu
- W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Adit Dhummakupt
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Deborah Persaud
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-443-287-3735
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Gunst JD, Pahus MH, Rosás-Umbert M, Lu IN, Benfield T, Nielsen H, Johansen IS, Mohey R, Østergaard L, Klastrup V, Khan M, Schleimann MH, Olesen R, Støvring H, Denton PW, Kinloch NN, Copertino DC, Ward AR, Alberto WDC, Nielsen SD, Puertas MC, Ramos V, Reeves JD, Petropoulos CJ, Martinez-Picado J, Brumme ZL, Jones RB, Fox J, Tolstrup M, Nussenzweig MC, Caskey M, Fidler S, Søgaard OS. Early intervention with 3BNC117 and romidepsin at antiretroviral treatment initiation in people with HIV-1: a phase 1b/2a, randomized trial. Nat Med 2022; 28:2424-2435. [PMID: 36253609 PMCID: PMC10189540 DOI: 10.1038/s41591-022-02023-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Attempts to reduce the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reservoir and induce antiretroviral therapy (ART)-free virologic control have largely been unsuccessful. In this phase 1b/2a, open-label, randomized controlled trial using a four-group factorial design, we investigated whether early intervention in newly diagnosed people with HIV-1 with a monoclonal anti-HIV-1 antibody with a CD4-binding site, 3BNC117, followed by a histone deacetylase inhibitor, romidepsin, shortly after ART initiation altered the course of HIV-1 infection ( NCT03041012 ). The trial was undertaken in five hospitals in Denmark and two hospitals in the United Kingdom. The coprimary endpoints were analysis of initial virus decay kinetics and changes in the frequency of CD4+ T cells containing intact HIV-1 provirus from baseline to day 365. Secondary endpoints included changes in the frequency of infected CD4+ T cells and virus-specific CD8+ T cell immunity from baseline to day 365, pre-ART plasma HIV-1 3BNC117 sensitivity, safety and tolerability, and time to loss of virologic control during a 12-week analytical ART interruption that started at day 400. In 55 newly diagnosed people (5 females and 50 males) with HIV-1 who received random allocation treatment, we found that early 3BNC117 treatment with or without romidepsin enhanced plasma HIV-1 RNA decay rates compared to ART only. Furthermore, 3BNC117 treatment accelerated clearance of infected cells compared to ART only. All groups had significant reductions in the frequency of CD4+ T cells containing intact HIV-1 provirus. At day 365, early 3BNC117 + romidepsin was associated with enhanced HIV-1 Gag-specific CD8+ T cell immunity compared to ART only. The observed virological and immunological effects of 3BNC117 were most pronounced in individuals whose pre-ART plasma HIV-1 envelope sequences were antibody sensitive. The results were not disaggregated by sex. Adverse events were mild to moderate and similar between the groups. During a 12-week analytical ART interruption among 20 participants, 3BNC117-treated individuals harboring sensitive viruses were significantly more likely to maintain ART-free virologic control than other participants. We conclude that 3BNC117 at ART initiation enhanced elimination of plasma viruses and infected cells, enhanced HIV-1-specific CD8+ immunity and was associated with sustained ART-free virologic control among persons with 3BNC117-sensitive virus. These findings strongly support interventions administered at the time of ART initiation as a strategy to limit long-term HIV-1 persistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesper D Gunst
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Marie H Pahus
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Miriam Rosás-Umbert
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - I-Na Lu
- Department of Neurology with Institute of Translational Neurology, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Thomas Benfield
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital-Amager and Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark
| | - Henrik Nielsen
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Isik S Johansen
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Odense University Hospital, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Rajesh Mohey
- Department of Internal Medicine, Regional Hospital Herning, Herning, Denmark
| | - Lars Østergaard
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Vibeke Klastrup
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Maryam Khan
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College Hospital, London, UK
- The National Institute for Health Research, Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, London, UK
| | - Mariane H Schleimann
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Rikke Olesen
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Henrik Støvring
- Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Paul W Denton
- Department of Biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Natalie N Kinloch
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Dennis C Copertino
- Infectious Diseases Division, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY, USA
| | - Adam R Ward
- Infectious Diseases Division, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
| | - Winiffer D Conce Alberto
- Infectious Diseases Division, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY, USA
| | - Silke D Nielsen
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Maria C Puertas
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, Badalona, Spain
- CIBERINFEC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Victor Ramos
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | | | | | - Javier Martinez-Picado
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, Badalona, Spain
- CIBERINFEC, Madrid, Spain
- University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, Vic, Spain
- Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Zabrina L Brumme
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - R Brad Jones
- Infectious Diseases Division, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY, USA
| | - Julie Fox
- Department of Genitourinary Medicine and Infectious Disease, Guy's and St Thomas' National Health Service Trust, London, UK
- Department of Genitourinary Medicine and Infectious Disease, The National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Martin Tolstrup
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - 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
| | - Marina Caskey
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sarah Fidler
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College Hospital, London, UK
- The National Institute for Health Research, Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, London, UK
| | - Ole S Søgaard
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
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Qualitative plasma viral load determination as a tool for screening of viral reservoir size in PWH. AIDS 2022; 36:1761-1768. [PMID: 36172869 DOI: 10.1097/qad.0000000000003352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Suppression of viral replication in patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) is determined by plasma viral load (pVL) measurement. Whenever pVL reaches values below the limit of quantification, the qualitative parameter 'target detected' or 'target not detected' is available but often not reported to the clinician. We investigated whether qualitative pVL measurements can be used to estimate the viral reservoir size. DESIGN The study recruited 114 people with HIV (PWH) who are stable on ART between 2016 and 2018. The percentage of pVL measurements qualitatively reported as 'target detected' (PTD) within a 2-year period was calculated. METHODS t-DNA and US-RNA were used to estimate viral reservoir size and were quantified on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using droplet digital PCR. RESULTS A median of 6.5 pVL measurements over a 2-year period was evaluated for each participant to calculate PTD. A positive correlation was found between t-DNA and PTD (r = 0.24; P = 0.011) but not between US-RNA and PTD (r = 0.1; P = 0.3). A significantly lower PTD was observed in PWH with a small viral reservoir, as estimated by t-DNA less than 66 copies/106 PBMCs and US-RNA less than 10 copies/106 PBMCs, compared with PWH with a larger viral reservoir (P = 0.001). We also show that t-DNA is detectable whenever PTD is higher than 56% and that ART regimen does not affect PTD. CONCLUSION Our study shows that PTD provides an efficient parameter to preselect participants with a small viral reservoir based on already available pVL data for future HIV cure trials.
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Renelt S, Schult-Dietrich P, Baldauf HM, Stein S, Kann G, Bickel M, Kielland-Kaisen U, Bonig H, Marschalek R, Rieger MA, Dietrich U, Duerr R. HIV-1 Infection of Long-Lived Hematopoietic Precursors In Vitro and In Vivo. Cells 2022; 11:cells11192968. [PMID: 36230931 PMCID: PMC9562211 DOI: 10.3390/cells11192968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Revised: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Latent reservoirs in human-immunodeficiency-virus-1 (HIV-1)-infected individuals represent a major obstacle in finding a cure for HIV-1. Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) have been described as potential HIV-1 targets, but their roles as HIV-1 reservoirs remain controversial. Here we provide additional evidence for the susceptibility of several distinct HSPC subpopulations to HIV-1 infection in vitro and in vivo. In vitro infection experiments of HSPCs were performed with different HIV-1 Env-pseudotyped lentiviral particles and with replication-competent HIV-1. Low-level infection/transduction of HSPCs, including hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and multipotent progenitors (MPP), was observed, preferentially via CXCR4, but also via CCR5-mediated entry. Multi-lineage colony formation in methylcellulose assays and repetitive replating of transduced cells provided functional proof of susceptibility of primitive HSPCs to HIV-1 infection. Further, the access to bone marrow samples from HIV-positive individuals facilitated the detection of HIV-1 gag cDNA copies in CD34+ cells from eight (out of eleven) individuals, with at least six of them infected with CCR5-tropic HIV-1 strains. In summary, our data confirm that primitive HSPC subpopulations are susceptible to CXCR4- and CCR5-mediated HIV-1 infection in vitro and in vivo, which qualifies these cells to contribute to the HIV-1 reservoir in patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Renelt
- Georg-Speyer-Haus, Institute for Tumor Biology and Experimental Therapy, 60596 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Patrizia Schult-Dietrich
- Georg-Speyer-Haus, Institute for Tumor Biology and Experimental Therapy, 60596 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Hanna-Mari Baldauf
- Max von Pettenkofer Institute & Gene Center, Virology, National Reference Center for Retroviruses, Faculty of Medicine, LMU München, 81377 Munich, Germany
- Institute of Medical Virology, Goethe University, 60596 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Stefan Stein
- Georg-Speyer-Haus, Institute for Tumor Biology and Experimental Therapy, 60596 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Gerrit Kann
- Department of Medicine II/Infectious Diseases, Goethe University Hospital, 60596 Frankfurt, Germany
- Infektiologikum, Center for Infectious Diseases, 60596 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Markus Bickel
- Infektiologikum, Center for Infectious Diseases, 60596 Frankfurt, Germany
| | | | - Halvard Bonig
- Institute for Transfusion Medicine and Immunohematology, German Red Cross Blood Donor Service Baden-Württemberg-Hessen, Goethe University, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Rolf Marschalek
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology, Goethe University, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Michael A. Rieger
- Department of Medicine, Hematology/Oncology, Goethe University Hospital, 60590 Frankfurt, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), German Cancer Research Center, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Frankfurt Cancer Institute, 60596 Frankfurt, Germany
- Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, 60596 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Ursula Dietrich
- Georg-Speyer-Haus, Institute for Tumor Biology and Experimental Therapy, 60596 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Ralf Duerr
- Georg-Speyer-Haus, Institute for Tumor Biology and Experimental Therapy, 60596 Frankfurt, Germany
- Department of Microbiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Correspondence:
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Measuring the latent reservoir for HIV-1: Quantification bias in near full-length genome sequencing methods. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010845. [PMID: 36074794 PMCID: PMC9488763 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) effectively inhibits HIV-1 replication but is not curative due to the persistence of a latent viral reservoir in resting CD4+ T cells. This reservoir is a major barrier to cure. Sequencing studies have revealed that the population of proviruses persisting in ART-treated individuals is dominated by defective proviruses that cannot give rise to viral rebound due to fatal defects including large deletions and APOBEC3-mediated hypermutation. Near full genome sequencing (nFGS) of individual proviruses is used in reservoir assays to provide an estimate of the fraction of proviruses that are intact. nFGS methods rely on a long-distance outer PCR capturing most (~9 kb) of the genome, followed by nested inner PCRs. The outer PCR is carried out at limit dilution, and interpretation of the results is based on the assumption that all proviruses are quantitatively captured. Here, we evaluate nFGS methods using the intact proviral DNA assay (IPDA), a multiplex digital droplet PCR assay that quantitates intact and defective proviruses with single molecule sensitivity using only short, highly efficient amplicons. We analyzed proviral templates of known sequence to avoid the additional complication of sequence polymorphism. With the IPDA, we quantitated molecular yields at each step of nFGS methods. We demonstrate that nFGS methods are inefficient and miss ~70% of full-length proviruses due to amplification failure at the initial outer PCR step. In contrast, proviruses with large internal deletions encompassing 70% of the genome can be quantitatively amplified under the same conditions. Accurate measurement of the latent reservoir of HIV-1 is essential for evaluating the efficacy of cure strategies, and the bias against full length proviruses in nFGS methods must be considered. Despite antiretroviral therapy, HIV-1 persists in a small population of resting memory CD4+ T cells carrying a latent viral genome. This latent reservoir is the major barrier to cure. Accurate reservoir assays are critical for evaluating therapies aimed at reducing the reservoir. Sequencing studies have shown that defective proviruses greatly outnumber the intact, replication-competent proviruses responsible for viral rebound, and reservoir assays that rely on near full-genome sequencing (nFGS) have provided important qualitative information about intact and defective proviruses. However, it is assumed that all proviruses are amplified with equal efficiency in nFGS methods, regardless of sequence length. Here, we rigorously measure the efficiency with which nFGS methods detect intact and defective proviruses using a highly efficient multiplex digital droplet PCR assay, the intact proviral DNA assay. This assay allows direct counting of input proviral template molecules as well as PCR amplified products generated with different nFGS methods. We determined that nFGS methods do not provide an accurate quantitative measure of intact proviruses. Only ~30% of intact proviruses were detected, while proviruses with large internal deletions were amplified at expected frequencies. Our study demonstrates that nFGS methods do not provide accurate quantitative information about the size and composition of the latent reservoir.
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Weymar GHJ, Bar-On Y, Oliveira TY, Gaebler C, Ramos V, Hartweger H, Breton G, Caskey M, Cohn LB, Jankovic M, Nussenzweig MC. Distinct gene expression by expanded clones of quiescent memory CD4 + T cells harboring intact latent HIV-1 proviruses. Cell Rep 2022; 40:111311. [PMID: 36070690 PMCID: PMC9471989 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Revised: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Antiretroviral therapy controls, but does not cure, HIV-1 infection due to a reservoir of rare CD4+ T cells harboring latent proviruses. Little is known about the transcriptional program of latent cells. Here, we report a strategy to enrich clones of latent cells carrying intact, replication-competent HIV-1 proviruses from blood based on their expression of unique T cell receptors. Latent cell enrichment enabled single-cell transcriptomic analysis of 1,050 CD4+ T cells belonging to expanded clones harboring intact HIV-1 proviruses from 6 different individuals. The analysis reveals that most of these cells are T effector memory cells that are enriched for expression of HLA-DR, HLA-DP, CD74, CCL5, granzymes A and K, cystatin F, LYAR, and DUSP2. We conclude that expanded clones of latent cells carrying intact HIV-1 proviruses persist preferentially in a distinct CD4+ T cell population, opening possibilities for eradication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georg H J Weymar
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Yotam Bar-On
- Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 320003, Israel
| | - Thiago Y Oliveira
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Christian Gaebler
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Victor Ramos
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Harald Hartweger
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Gaëlle Breton
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Marina Caskey
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Lillian B Cohn
- Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Mila Jankovic
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Michel C Nussenzweig
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA.
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Adams P, Berkhout B, Pasternak AO. Towards a molecular profile of antiretroviral therapy-free HIV remission. Curr Opin HIV AIDS 2022; 17:301-307. [PMID: 35938464 DOI: 10.1097/coh.0000000000000749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW To summarize the current status and highlight recent findings on predictive biomarkers for posttreatment HIV control (PTC) and virological remission. While historically, many studies focused on virological markers, there is an increasing tendency to enter immune and metabolic factors into the equation. RECENT FINDINGS On the virological side, several groups reported that cell-associated HIV RNA could predict time to viral rebound. Recent data hints at the possible importance of the genic location and chromatin context of the integrated provirus, although these factors still need to be assessed in relation to PTC and virological remission. Evidence from immunological studies highlighted innate and humoral immunity as important factors for prolonged HIV remission. Interestingly, novel metabolic markers have emerged, which offer additional angles to our understanding of latency and viral rebound. SUMMARY Facilitating PTC and virological remission remain top priorities for the HIV cure research. We advocate for clear and precise definitions for both phenomena in order to avoid misconceptions and to strengthen the conclusions that can be drawn. As no one-size-fits-all marker has emerged yet, more biomarkers are on the horizon, and viral rebound is a complex and heterogeneous process, it is likely that a combination of various biomarkers in cohesion will be necessary for a more accurate prediction of antiretroviral therapy-free HIV remission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Adams
- Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Quantitative Evaluation of Very Low Levels of HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase by a Novel Highly Sensitive RT-qPCR Assay. LIFE (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 12:life12081130. [PMID: 36013309 PMCID: PMC9410348 DOI: 10.3390/life12081130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Based on previous experience in our laboratory, we developed a real-time reverse transcriptase (RT) quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) assay for the assessment of very low levels of HIV-1 RT activity. The RNA, acting as a template for reverse transcription into cDNA by HIV-1 RT, consisted of a synthetic RNA ad hoc generated by in vitro transcription and included a coding sequence for HSV-1 gD (gD-RNA-synt). Different conditions of variables involved in the RT-qPCR reaction, notably different amounts of gD-RNA-synt, different mixes of the reaction buffer, and different dNTP concentrations, were tested to optimize the assay. The results indicated that the gD-RNA-synt-based RT assay, in its optimized formulation, could detect a specific cDNA reverse transcription even in the presence of 1 × 10-9 U of HIV RT. This achievement greatly improved the sensitivity of the assay over previous versions. In summary, this constructed RT-qPCR assay may be considered a promising tool for providing accurate information on very low HIV-1 RT activity.
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Gaebler C, Nogueira L, Stoffel E, Oliveira TY, Breton G, Millard KG, Turroja M, Butler A, Ramos V, Seaman MS, Reeves JD, Petroupoulos CJ, Shimeliovich I, Gazumyan A, Jiang CS, Jilg N, Scheid JF, Gandhi R, Walker BD, Sneller MC, Fauci A, Chun TW, Caskey M, Nussenzweig MC. Prolonged viral suppression with anti-HIV-1 antibody therapy. Nature 2022; 606:368-374. [PMID: 35418681 PMCID: PMC9177424 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04597-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 37.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
HIV-1 infection remains a public health problem with no cure. Anti-retroviral therapy (ART) is effective but requires lifelong drug administration owing to a stable reservoir of latent proviruses integrated into the genome of CD4+ T cells1. Immunotherapy with anti-HIV-1 antibodies has the potential to suppress infection and increase the rate of clearance of infected cells2,3. Here we report on a clinical study in which people living with HIV received seven doses of a combination of two broadly neutralizing antibodies over 20 weeks in the presence or absence of ART. Without pre-screening for antibody sensitivity, 76% (13 out of 17) of the volunteers maintained virologic suppression for at least 20 weeks off ART. Post hoc sensitivity analyses were not predictive of the time to viral rebound. Individuals in whom virus remained suppressed for more than 20 weeks showed rebound viraemia after one of the antibodies reached serum concentrations below 10 µg ml-1. Two of the individuals who received all seven antibody doses maintained suppression after one year. Reservoir analysis performed after six months of antibody therapy revealed changes in the size and composition of the intact proviral reservoir. By contrast, there was no measurable decrease in the defective reservoir in the same individuals. These data suggest that antibody administration affects the HIV-1 reservoir, but additional larger and longer studies will be required to define the precise effect of antibody immunotherapy on the reservoir.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Gaebler
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lilian Nogueira
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Elina Stoffel
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Thiago Y Oliveira
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Gaëlle Breton
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Katrina G Millard
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Martina Turroja
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Allison Butler
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Victor Ramos
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Michael S Seaman
- Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | | | - Irina Shimeliovich
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Anna Gazumyan
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Caroline S Jiang
- Center for Clinical and Translational Science, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nikolaus Jilg
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Johannes F Scheid
- Division of Gastroenterology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Rajesh Gandhi
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bruce D Walker
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Michael C Sneller
- Laboratory of Immunoregulation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Anthony Fauci
- Laboratory of Immunoregulation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Tae-Wook Chun
- Laboratory of Immunoregulation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Marina Caskey
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, 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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Kreider EF, Bar KJ. HIV-1 Reservoir Persistence and Decay: Implications for Cure Strategies. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep 2022; 19:194-206. [PMID: 35404007 PMCID: PMC10443186 DOI: 10.1007/s11904-022-00604-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Despite suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART), a viral reservoir persists in individuals living with HIV that can reignite systemic replication should treatment be interrupted. Understanding how HIV-1 persists through effective ART is essential to develop cure strategies to induce ART-free virus remission. RECENT FINDINGS The HIV-1 reservoir resides in a pool of CD4-expressing cells as a range of viral species, a subset of which is genetically intact. Recent studies suggest that the reservoir on ART is highly dynamic, with expansion and contraction of virus-infected cells over time. Overall, the intact proviral reservoir declines faster than defective viruses, suggesting enhanced immune clearance or cellular turnover. Upon treatment interruption, rebound viruses demonstrate escape from adaptive and innate immune responses, implicating these selective pressures in restriction of virus reactivation. Cure strategies employing immunotherapy are poised to test whether host immune pressure can be augmented to enhance reservoir suppression or clearance. Alternatively, genomic engineering approaches are being applied to directly eliminate intact viruses and shrink the replication-competent virus pool. New evidence suggests host immunity exerts selective pressure on reservoir viruses and clears HIV-1 infected cells over years on ART. Efforts to build on the detectable, but insufficient, reservoir clearance via empiric testing in clinical trials will inform our understanding of mechanisms of viral persistence and the direction of future cure strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward F Kreider
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Stemmler Hall Room 130-150, 3450 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-6073, USA
| | - Katharine J Bar
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 502D Johnson Pavilion, 3610 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA, 19104‑0673, USA.
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Giron LB, Abdel-Mohsen M. Viral and Host Biomarkers of HIV Remission Post Treatment Interruption. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep 2022; 19:217-233. [PMID: 35438384 DOI: 10.1007/s11904-022-00607-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW HIV rebound/remission after antiretroviral therapy (ART) interruption is likely influenced by (a) the size of the inducible replication-competent HIV reservoir and (b) factors in the host environment that influence immunological pressures on this reservoir. Identifying viral and/or host biomarkers of HIV rebound after ART cessation may improve the safety of treatment interruptions and our understanding of how the viral-host interplay results in post-treatment control. Here we review the predictive and functional significance of recently suggested viral and host biomarkers of time to viral rebound and post-treatment control following ART interruption. RECENT FINDINGS There are currently no validated viral or host biomarkers of viral rebound; however, several biomarkers have been recently suggested. A combination of viral and host factors will likely be needed to predict viral rebound and to better understand the mechanisms contributing to post-treatment control of HIV, critical steps to developing a cure for HIV infection.
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Tipoe T, Fidler S, Frater J. An exploration of how broadly neutralizing antibodies might induce HIV remission: the 'vaccinal' effect. Curr Opin HIV AIDS 2022; 17:162-170. [PMID: 35439790 DOI: 10.1097/coh.0000000000000731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) are a potential new therapeutic strategy to treat HIV infection. This review explores possible mechanisms of action of bNAbs and summarizes the current evidence supporting their immunomodulatory properties, which might lead to sustained virological remission - the 'vaccinal effect'. RECENT FINDINGS Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is required to confer lasting HIV suppression; stopping ART almost invariably leads to HIV recrudescence from a persistent pool of virally infected cells - the HIV reservoir. HIV-specific broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) may confer viral control after ART cessation predominantly through blockade of viral entry into uninfected target cells. In some human and animal studies, HIV bNAbs also conferred lasting viral suppression after therapeutic bNAb plasma levels had declined. Immune-modulatory mechanisms have been postulated to underlie this observation - the 'vaccinal effect'. Hypothesized mechanisms include the formation of immune complexes between bNAbs and HIV envelope protein, thereby enhancing antigen presentation and uptake by immune cells, with boosted adaptive immune responses subsequently controlling the HIV reservoir. SUMMARY There is emerging evidence for potent antiviral efficacy of bNAb therapy. Whether bNAbs can induce sustained viral suppression after dropping below therapeutic levels remains controversial. Mechanistic data from on-going and future clinical trials will help answer these questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy Tipoe
- Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford
| | - Sarah Fidler
- Department of Infectious Disease, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London
- Department of GU and HIV Medicine, St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London
- NIHR Imperial College Biomedical Research, UK
| | - John Frater
- Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford
- NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford
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41
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Ta TM, Malik S, Anderson EM, Jones AD, Perchik J, Freylikh M, Sardo L, Klase ZA, Izumi T. Insights Into Persistent HIV-1 Infection and Functional Cure: Novel Capabilities and Strategies. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:862270. [PMID: 35572626 PMCID: PMC9093714 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.862270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Although HIV-1 replication can be efficiently suppressed to undetectable levels in peripheral blood by combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), lifelong medication is still required in people living with HIV (PLWH). Life expectancies have been extended by cART, but age-related comorbidities have increased which are associated with heavy physiological and economic burdens on PLWH. The obstacle to a functional HIV cure can be ascribed to the formation of latent reservoir establishment at the time of acute infection that persists during cART. Recent studies suggest that some HIV reservoirs are established in the early acute stages of HIV infection within multiple immune cells that are gradually shaped by various host and viral mechanisms and may undergo clonal expansion. Early cART initiation has been shown to reduce the reservoir size in HIV-infected individuals. Memory CD4+ T cell subsets are regarded as the predominant cellular compartment of the HIV reservoir, but monocytes and derivative macrophages or dendritic cells also play a role in the persistent virus infection. HIV latency is regulated at multiple molecular levels in transcriptional and post-transcriptional processes. Epigenetic regulation of the proviral promoter can profoundly regulate the viral transcription. In addition, transcriptional elongation, RNA splicing, and nuclear export pathways are also involved in maintaining HIV latency. Although most proviruses contain large internal deletions, some defective proviruses may induce immune activation by expressing viral proteins or producing replication-defective viral-like particles. In this review article, we discuss the state of the art on mechanisms of virus persistence in the periphery and tissue and summarize interdisciplinary approaches toward a functional HIV cure, including novel capabilities and strategies to measure and eliminate the infected reservoirs and induce immune control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tram M. Ta
- Department of Biological Sciences, Misher College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Sajjaf Malik
- Department of Biological Sciences, Misher College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Elizabeth M. Anderson
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Region 3, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Amber D. Jones
- Department of Biological Sciences, Misher College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States,Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Jocelyn Perchik
- Department of Biological Sciences, Misher College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Maryann Freylikh
- Department of Biological Sciences, Misher College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Luca Sardo
- Department of Infectious Disease and Vaccines, Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, United States
| | - Zackary A. Klase
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States,Center for Neuroimmunology and CNS Therapeutics, Institute of Molecular Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Drexel University of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Taisuke Izumi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Misher College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States,*Correspondence: Taisuke Izumi,
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42
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Long S. Digital PCR: Methods and applications in infectious diseases. Methods 2022; 201:1-4. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2022.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
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43
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Longitudinal clonal dynamics of HIV-1 latent reservoirs measured by combination quadruplex polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:2117630119. [PMID: 35042816 PMCID: PMC8794825 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2117630119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
HIV-1 infection produces a long-lived reservoir of latently infected CD4+ T cells that represents the major barrier to HIV-1 cure. The reservoir contains both intact and defective proviruses, but only the proviruses that are intact can reinitiate infection upon cessation of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Here we combine four-color quantitative PCR and next-generation sequencing (Q4PCR) to distinguish intact and defective proviruses and measure reservoir content longitudinally in 12 infected individuals. Q4PCR differs from other PCR-based methods in that the amplified proviruses are sequence verified as intact or defective. Samples were collected systematically over the course of up to 10 y beginning shortly after the initiation of ART. The size of the defective reservoir was relatively stable with minimal decay during the 10-y observation period. In contrast, the intact proviral reservoir decayed with an estimated half-life of 4.9 y. Nevertheless, both intact and defective proviral reservoirs are dynamic. As a result, the fraction of intact proviruses found in expanded clones of CD4+ T cells increases over time with a concomitant decrease in overall reservoir complexity. Thus, reservoir decay measurements by Q4PCR are quantitatively similar to viral outgrowth assay (VOA) and intact proviral DNA PCR assay (IPDA) with the addition of sequence information that distinguishes intact and defective proviruses and informs reservoir dynamics. The data are consistent with the notion that intact and defective proviruses are under distinct selective pressure, and that the intact proviral reservoir is progressively enriched in expanded clones of CD4+ T cells resulting in diminishing complexity over time.
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44
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Kleinman AJ, Pandrea I, Apetrei C. So Pathogenic or So What?-A Brief Overview of SIV Pathogenesis with an Emphasis on Cure Research. Viruses 2022; 14:135. [PMID: 35062339 PMCID: PMC8781889 DOI: 10.3390/v14010135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2021] [Revised: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 12/25/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
HIV infection requires lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) to control disease progression. Although ART has greatly extended the life expectancy of persons living with HIV (PWH), PWH nonetheless suffer from an increase in AIDS-related and non-AIDS related comorbidities resulting from HIV pathogenesis. Thus, an HIV cure is imperative to improve the quality of life of PWH. In this review, we discuss the origins of various SIV strains utilized in cure and comorbidity research as well as their respective animal species used. We briefly detail the life cycle of HIV and describe the pathogenesis of HIV/SIV and the integral role of chronic immune activation and inflammation on disease progression and comorbidities, with comparisons between pathogenic infections and nonpathogenic infections that occur in natural hosts of SIVs. We further discuss the various HIV cure strategies being explored with an emphasis on immunological therapies and "shock and kill".
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam J. Kleinman
- Division of Infectious Diseases, DOM, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA;
| | - Ivona Pandrea
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA;
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Cristian Apetrei
- Division of Infectious Diseases, DOM, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA;
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA;
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45
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Abstract
The introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has transformed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 into a chronic, well-managed disease. However, these therapies do not eliminate all infected cells from the body despite suppressing viral load. Viral rebound is largely due to the presence of cellular reservoirs which support long-term persistence of HIV-1. A thorough understanding of the HIV-1 reservoir will facilitate the development of new strategies leading to its detection, reduction, and elimination, ultimately leading to curative therapies for HIV-1. Although immune cells derived from lymphoid and myeloid progenitors have been thoroughly studied as HIV-1 reservoirs, few studies have examined whether mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) can assume this function. In this review, we evaluate published studies which have assessed whether MSCs contribute to the HIV-1 reservoir. MSCs have been found to express the receptors and co-receptors required for HIV-1 entry, albeit at levels of expression and receptor localisation that vary considerably between studies. Exposure to HIV-1 and HIV-1 proteins alters MSC properties in vitro, including their proliferation capacity and differentiation potential. However, in vitro and in vivo experiments investigating whether MSCs can become infected with and harbour latent integrated proviral DNA are lacking. In conclusion, MSCs appear to have the potential to contribute to the HIV-1 reservoir. However, further studies are needed using techniques such as those used to prove that cluster of differentiation (CD)4+ T cells constitute an HIV-1 reservoir before a reservoir function can definitively be ascribed to MSCs.
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46
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Quantification of Total HIV DNA as a Marker to Measure Viral Reservoir: Methods and Potential Implications for Clinical Practice. Diagnostics (Basel) 2021; 12:diagnostics12010039. [PMID: 35054206 PMCID: PMC8774405 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics12010039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Revised: 12/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The focus of this review is to examine the importance of quantifying total HIV DNA to target the HIV reservoir and the clinical implications and challenges involved in its future application in clinical practice. Despite intrinsic limitations, the quantification of total HIV DNA is currently the most widely used marker for exploring the HIV reservoir. As it allows estimating all forms of HIV DNA in the infected cells, total HIV DNA load is the biomarker of the HIV reservoir that provides most of the insights into HIV pathogenesis. The clinical role of total HIV-DNA in both untreated and treated patients is extensively supported by important lines of evidence. Thus, predictive models that include total HIV DNA load together with other variables could constitute a prognostic tool for use in clinical practice. To date, however, this marker has been primarily used in experimental evaluations. The main challenge is technical. Although the implementation of droplet digital PCR could improve analytical performance over real-time PCR, the lack of standardization has made cross-comparisons of the data difficult. An effort by investigators to compare protocols is needed. Furthermore, the main effort now should be to involve the biomedical industry in the development of certified assays for in vitro diagnostics use.
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47
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New Approaches to Multi-Parametric HIV-1 Genetics Using Multiple Displacement Amplification: Determining the What, How, and Where of the HIV-1 Reservoir. Viruses 2021; 13:v13122475. [PMID: 34960744 PMCID: PMC8709494 DOI: 10.3390/v13122475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Development of potential HIV-1 curative interventions requires accurate characterization of the proviral reservoir, defined as host-integrated viral DNA genomes that drive rebound of viremia upon halting ART (antiretroviral therapy). Evaluation of such interventions necessitates methods capable of pinpointing the rare, genetically intact, replication-competent proviruses within a background of defective proviruses. This evaluation can be achieved by identifying the distinct integration sites of intact proviruses within host genomes and monitoring the dynamics of these proviruses and host cell lineages over longitudinal sampling. Until recently, molecular genetic approaches at the single proviral level have been generally limited to one of a few metrics, such as proviral genome sequence/intactness, host-proviral integration site, or replication competency. New approaches, taking advantage of MDA (multiple displacement amplification) for WGA (whole genome amplification), have enabled multiparametric proviral characterization at the single-genome level, including proviral genome sequence, host-proviral integration site, and phenotypic characterization of the host cell lineage, such as CD4 memory subset and antigen specificity. In this review, we will examine the workflow of MDA-augmented molecular genetic approaches to study the HIV-1 reservoir, highlighting technical advantages and flexibility. We focus on a collection of recent studies in which investigators have used these approaches to comprehensively characterize intact and defective proviruses from donors on ART, investigate mechanisms of elite control, and define cell lineage identity and antigen specificity of infected CD4+ T cell clones. The highlighted studies exemplify how these approaches and their future iterations will be key in defining the targets and evaluating the impacts of HIV curative interventions.
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48
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Huang AS, Ramos V, Oliveira TY, Gaebler C, Jankovic M, Nussenzweig MC, Cohn LB. Integration features of intact latent HIV-1 in CD4+ T cell clones contribute to viral persistence. J Exp Med 2021; 218:e20211427. [PMID: 34636876 PMCID: PMC8515646 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20211427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Revised: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Latent intact HIV-1 proviruses persist in a small subset of long-lived CD4+ T cells that can undergo clonal expansion in vivo. Expanded clones of CD4+ T cells dominate latent reservoirs in individuals on long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART) and represent a major barrier to HIV-1 cure. To determine how integration landscape might contribute to latency, we analyzed integration sites of near full length HIV-1 genomes from individuals on long-term ART, focusing on individuals whose reservoirs are highly clonal. We find that intact proviruses in expanded CD4+ T cell clones are preferentially integrated within Krüppel-associated box (KRAB) domain-containing zinc finger (ZNF) genes. ZNF genes are associated with heterochromatin in memory CD4+ T cells; nevertheless, they are expressed in these cells under steady-state conditions. In contrast to genes carrying unique integrations, ZNF genes carrying clonal intact integrations are down-regulated upon cellular activation. Together, the data suggest selected genomic sites, including ZNF genes, can be especially permissive for maintaining HIV-1 latency during memory CD4+ T cell expansion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy S. Huang
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY
| | - Victor Ramos
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY
| | - Thiago Y. Oliveira
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY
| | - Christian Gaebler
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY
| | - Mila Jankovic
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY
| | - Michel C. Nussenzweig
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD
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49
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Zaongo SD, Sun F, Chen Y. Are HIV-1-Specific Antibody Levels Potentially Useful Laboratory Markers to Estimate HIV Reservoir Size? A Review. Front Immunol 2021; 12:786341. [PMID: 34858439 PMCID: PMC8632222 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.786341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the benefits achieved by the widespread availability of modern antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV RNA integration into the host cell genome is responsible for the creation of latent HIV reservoirs, and represents a significant impediment to completely eliminating HIV infection in a patient via modern ART alone. Several methods to measure HIV reservoir size exist; however, simpler, cheaper, and faster tools are required in the quest for total HIV cure. Over the past few years, measurement of HIV-specific antibodies has evolved into a promising option for measuring HIV reservoir size, as they can be measured via simple, well-known techniques such as the western blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In this article, we re-visit the dynamic evolution of HIV-1-specific antibodies and the factors that may influence their levels in the circulation of HIV-positive individuals. Then, we describe the currently-known relationship between HIV-1-specific antibodies and HIV reservoir size based on study of data from contemporary literature published during the past 5 years. We conclude by highlighting current trends, and discussing the individual HIV-specific antibody that is likely to be the most reliable antibody for potential future utilization for quantification of HIV reservoir size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvere D Zaongo
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Chongqing Public Health Medical Center, Chongqing, China
| | - Feng Sun
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Chongqing Public Health Medical Center, Chongqing, China
| | - Yaokai Chen
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Chongqing Public Health Medical Center, Chongqing, China
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50
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Schmidt F, Weisblum Y, Rutkowska M, Poston D, DaSilva J, Zhang F, Bednarski E, Cho A, Schaefer-Babajew DJ, Gaebler C, Caskey M, Nussenzweig MC, Hatziioannou T, Bieniasz PD. High genetic barrier to SARS-CoV-2 polyclonal neutralizing antibody escape. Nature 2021; 600:512-516. [PMID: 34544114 PMCID: PMC9241107 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04005-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 146] [Impact Index Per Article: 48.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The number and variability of the neutralizing epitopes targeted by polyclonal antibodies in individuals who are SARS-CoV-2 convalescent and vaccinated are key determinants of neutralization breadth and the genetic barrier to viral escape1-4. Using HIV-1 pseudotypes and plasma selection experiments with vesicular stomatitis virus/SARS-CoV-2 chimaeras5, here we show that multiple neutralizing epitopes, within and outside the receptor-binding domain, are variably targeted by human polyclonal antibodies. Antibody targets coincide with spike sequences that are enriched for diversity in natural SARS-CoV-2 populations. By combining plasma-selected spike substitutions, we generated synthetic 'polymutant' spike protein pseudotypes that resisted polyclonal antibody neutralization to a similar degree as circulating variants of concern. By aggregating variant of concern-associated and antibody-selected spike substitutions into a single polymutant spike protein, we show that 20 naturally occurring mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein are sufficient to generate pseudotypes with near-complete resistance to the polyclonal neutralizing antibodies generated by individuals who are convalescent or recipients who received an mRNA vaccine. However, plasma from individuals who had been infected and subsequently received mRNA vaccination neutralized pseudotypes bearing this highly resistant SARS-CoV-2 polymutant spike, or diverse sarbecovirus spike proteins. Thus, optimally elicited human polyclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 should be resilient to substantial future SARS-CoV-2 variation and may confer protection against potential future sarbecovirus pandemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Schmidt
- Laboratory of Retrovirology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yiska Weisblum
- Laboratory of Retrovirology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Magdalena Rutkowska
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Daniel Poston
- Laboratory of Retrovirology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Justin DaSilva
- Laboratory of Retrovirology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Fengwen Zhang
- Laboratory of Retrovirology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Eva Bednarski
- Laboratory of Retrovirology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Alice Cho
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Christian Gaebler
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Marina Caskey
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Michel C Nussenzweig
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Paul D Bieniasz
- Laboratory of Retrovirology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA.
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