HIV-1 reverse transcriptase codon 215 mutation and clinical outcome in children treated with zidovudine

Analysis of generalized semiparametric mixed varying-coefficients models for longitudinal data

The generalized semiparametric mixed varying-coefficient effects model for longitudinal data can accommodate a variety of link functions and flexibly model different types of covariate effects, including time-constant, time-varying, and covariate-varying effects. The time-varying effects are unspecified functions of time and the covariate-varying effects are nonparametric functions of a possibly time-dependent exposure variable. A semiparametric estimation procedure is developed that uses local linear smoothing and profile weighted least squares, which requires smoothing in the two different and yet connected domains of time and the time-dependent exposure variable. The asymptotic properties of the estimators of both nonparametric and parametric effects are investigated. In addition, hypothesis testing procedures are developed to examine the covariate effects. The finite-sample properties of the proposed estimators and testing procedures are examined through simulations, indicating satisfactory performances. The proposed methods are applied to analyze the ACTG 244 clinical trial to investigate the effects of antiretroviral treatment switching in HIV-infected patients before and after developing the T215Y antiretroviral drug resistance mutation.

Viral resistance patterns selected by antiretroviral drugs and their potential to guide treatment choice

Massive viral turnover and reverse transcriptase's high error rate create the potential for drug-resistant viral variants to appear rapidly under the selective pressure of antiretroviral therapy. Loss of antiviral effect in treatment-adherent persons is most commonly coincident with the appearance of viral mutants with reduced drug sensitivity. Thus, detection of viral resistance may represent an early marker of therapy failure. Similarly, control of viral replication in the plasma compartment, as defined by plasma viral load below the levels of assay quantification, is associated with a sustained therapeutic response and delayed development of viral resistance. Information on patterns of resistance to and cross-resistance between antiretroviral agents is increasingly well characterised and represents an important consideration when deciding how to combine and/or sequence antiretrovirals to achieve optimal antiviral effects. Given the limited number of antiretrovirals presently available or in advanced development, it is important not to limit future therapeutic options by using therapies early in the treatment sequence which may select for cross-resistant viral variants and hence potentially reduce the magnitude of therapeutic response when treatment is changed to another member of that drug class. However, no studies using resistance to guide clinical decision making have been reported to date and available sequencing studies have focused largely on switching or adding therapies to patients experienced with zidovudine monotherapy. Thus, no resistance driven treatment algorithm is currently available.

Genotypic resistance and HIV-1 subtype in Brazilian children on dual and triple combination therapy

BACKGROUND

Antiretroviral therapy is provided by the Brazilian Ministry of Health to eligible HIV-infected individuals. Based on clinical and immunological classification, the Brazilian guidelines recommend dual or triple therapy for children. However, the development of drug-resistant strains or poor adherence to therapy could impact the efficacy of this approach.

OBJECTIVES

We examined relationships between RNA levels, CD4+ T-cell counts, treatment history, and the prevalence of drug-resistant variants in a cohort of HIV-1-infected children in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

STUDY DESIGN

Direct sequencing of reverse transcriptase and protease genes from plasma was performed. Virologic and CD4+ T-cell counts responses to therapy were assessed by changes in HIV-1 RNA levels and CD4+ T-cell counts from baseline.

RESULTS

Thirty-seven patients were receiving dual therapy and 38 were on triple therapy at enrollment, segregated by antiretroviral history. Both groups had a higher increase in CD4+ T cell counts and a lower viral load in pre-treatment antiretroviral-naïve subjects. Notably, there was a direct correlation between the higher frequencies of drug-resistance mutations and cross-resistance with previous usage of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy in both groups. Non-B subtypes isolates were found in 21.3% of samples. A smaller increase in CD4+ T cell counts was found between non-B subtypes when compared to B-subtypes.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that less immunological recovery and a higher number of mutations related to drug resistance were associated with previous usage of ARV and consequent higher time under drug selective pressure in these HIV-infected Brazilian children. These facts suggest the preferential use of triple drug combination as first line regimen in children.

Prevalence of genotypic drug resistance among a cohort of HIV-infected newborns

A retrospective, blinded study was conducted to examine the prevalence of antiretroviral drug resistance among a cohort of HIV-infected infants born in 1998 and 1999 in New York State. The earliest available HIV-positive specimen was tested. Most samples were from infants younger than 60 days of age. Genotype data were generated for the protease and reverse transcriptase genes of HIV-1 proviral DNA from 91 infected infants. Eleven infants (12.1%) had provirus with mutations associated with drug resistance, with all three classes of antiretroviral drugs represented. Two infants (2.2%) had mutations associated with resistance to two classes of antiretrovirals. Perinatal antiretroviral drug exposure was examined; it was not found to be significantly associated with the presence of resistance mutations. However, for those infants who had perinatal antiretroviral exposure and genotypic evidence of drug resistance to HIV, the mutations that were detected correlated with at least one antiretroviral from the perinatal period. The prevalence of genotypic drug resistance among this infant cohort is comparable with that found among recently infected adults. These results suggest that resistance testing should be strongly considered for perinatally infected infants, at the earliest possible time point, to avoid use of antiretroviral drugs to which the infant has preexisting resistance.

A randomized study of antiretroviral management based on plasma genotypic antiretroviral resistance testing in patients failing therapy. CPCRA 046 Study Team for the Terry Beirn Community Programs for Clinical Research on AIDS

OBJECTIVE

To determine the short-term effects of using genotypic antiretroviral resistance testing (GART) with expert advice in the management of patients failing on a protease inhibitor and two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors.

DESIGN

Prospective randomized controlled trial.

SETTING

Multicenter community-based clinical trials network.

PATIENTS

One-hundred and fifty-three HIV-infected adults with a threefold or greater rise in plasma HIV-1 RNA on at least 16 weeks of combination antiretroviral therapy.

INTERVENTIONS

Randomization was either to a GART group, where genotype interpretation and suggested regimens were provided to clinicians, or to a no-GART group, where treatment choices were made without such input.

MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES

Plasma HIV-1 RNA levels and CD4 cell counts were measured at 4, 8, and 12 weeks following randomization. The primary endpoint was change in HIV-1 RNA levels from baseline to the average of the 4 and 8 week levels.

RESULTS

The average baseline CD4 cell count was 230 x 10(6) cells/l and the median HIV-1 RNA was 28,085 copies/ml. At entry, 82 patients were failing on regimens containing indinavir, 51 on nelfinavir, 11 on ritonavir, and nine on saquinavir. HIV-1 RNA, averaged at 4 and 8 weeks, decreased by 1.19 log10 for the 78 GART patients and -0.61 log10 for the 75 no-GART patients (treatment difference: -0.53 log, 95% confidence interval, -0.77 to -0.29; P = 0.00001). Overall, the best virologic responses occurred in patients who received three or more drugs to which their HIV-1 appeared to be susceptible.

CONCLUSION

In patients failing triple drug therapy, GART with expert advice was superior to no-GART as measured by short-term viral load responses.

Managing resistance to anti-HIV drugs: an important consideration for effective disease management

Current recommendations for the treatment of HIV-infected patients advise highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) consisting of combinations of 3 or more drugs to provide long-term clinical benefit. This is because only a complete suppression of virus replication will be able to prevent virus drug resistance, the main cause of drug failure. Virus drug resistance may remain a cause of concern in patients who have already received suboptimal mono- or bitherapy, or for patients who do not experience complete shut-down of virus replication under HAART. For these patients, replacement of one combination therapy regimen by another at drug failure, taking into account the existing resistance profile, will be needed. The development of new drugs will remain necessary for those patients who have failed to respond to all currently available drugs, as will be the institution of more effective and less toxic HAART regimens.

Zidovudine therapy and HIV type 1 mutations in children with symptomatic HIV type 1 infection: effect of switching to didanosine or zidovudine plus didanosine therapy. Italian Multicenter Study Group on HIV Mutations in Children

Type and prevalence of zidovudine (ZDV) resistance mutations in HIV-1-infected children in clinically stable condition and on ZDV monotherapy were analyzed to evaluate the effect of switching to didanosine (ddI) monotherapy or to ZDV plus ddI on the pattern of mutations and on the clinical outcome. Monthly clinical and laboratory controls for HIV-1 infection status were performed; at enrollment and every 4 to 6 months after treatment randomization mutant proviral sequences were evaluated in all the children, whereas viral burden was performed only in a small subgroup of patients randomly selected in each of the three treatment groups. ZDV resistance-associated proviral DNA mutations were defined as low-level resistance (LLR) mutations or medium/high-level resistance (MHLR) mutations; clinical outcome was considered as stable or deteriorating. Results showed that at entry into the study the duration of ZDV therapy was significantly correlated with the presence of mutations, and that the level of resistance given by mutations was associated with the severity both of symptoms and immunodeficiency. After randomization to treatment, in patients with mutations that confer LLR a better clinical outcome with ddI monotherapy than with ZDV plus ddI and ZDV alone was observed in the subsequent 6 months, whereas in patients with mutations that confer MHLR no significant difference among the three treatment groups was found. Data showed also that levels of viral burden at the time of changing therapy are related to clinical outcome if measured by plasma viral load. These results suggest that genotypic resistance assays, together with viral load, may prove useful for rational treatment decisions both at the start of therapy and with failure.

Prevalence and incidence of resistance to zidovudine and other antiretroviral drugs

Drug-resistant human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 has been detected in patients on all of the currently available antiretroviral drug regimens. Continuous, high-level virus replication with an error-prone reverse transcriptase enzyme and potential viral recombination events lead to each patient having numerous viral quasispecies and promote the emergence of drug-resistant strains. Drug resistance is associated with one or more point mutations in the HIV gene of the protein that is targeted by the drug. Factors associated with rapid emergence of drug resistance include host factors, such as advanced HIV disease and low CD4 cell counts; viral factors, such as high plasma HIV RNA, pre-existing drug-resistant virus, and possibly syncytium-inducing (SI) phenotype; and drug-related factors, such as suboptimal drug levels or poor compliance. High-level drug resistance has emerged after weeks to months of therapy for lamivudine (3TC) and nevirapine where drug-resistant quasispecies pre-exist in essentially all patients. Resistance has emerged more slowly for zidovudine (ZDV) and HIV protease inhibitors, which require the sequential accumulation of multiple mutations to develop high-level resistance. Certain drugs, such as didanosine (DDI), dideoxycytidine (DDC), and stavudine (D4T) have only produced viruses with low-level resistance, despite prolonged therapy. Development of drug-resistant HIV-1 has been associated with declining CD4 cell counts and rising plasma viral load. Zidovudine-resistant HIV-1 has been associated with adverse clinical outcomes independent of baseline CD4 cell counts and plasma HIV-1 RNA levels. Combination therapy offers the possibility of delaying or preventing the development of HIV drug resistance via interacting drug resistance mutations or potent antiviral activity. Widespread use of ZDV has been associated with transmission of ZDV-resistant HIV-1 in approximately 10% of adult seroconverters and a significant percentage of infants who fail the AIDS Clinical Trial Group (ACTG) 076 prophylactic regimen.

Reverse transcriptase mutations in HIV-1-infected children treated with zidovudine

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase (RT) mutations were detected in DNA from peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 11 of 12 HIV-1-infected children after 11-20 months of zidovudine monotherapy. The number of children with mutations detected at each codon were as follows: codon 41, 4; codon 67, 2; codon 70, 7; codon 215, 7; codon 219, 0. Codon 41 mutations were found only in the presence of a codon 215 mutation and in the absence of a codon 70 mutation. The codon 41/215 mutant combination was associated with decline in weight-for-age z score during therapy, weight < 10th percentile, CD4+ cell counts < 3rd percentile, and immune-complex dissociated HIV-1 p24 antigen (ICD p24 Ag) levels > 100 pg/ml. Patients developing the codon 70 mutation tended to have body weight > 30th percentile, CD4+ cell counts > 25th percentile, and ICD p24 Ag < 100 pg/ml. The codon 41 mutation was associated with clinical deterioration during a 6-month followup period.

Use of viral resistance patterns to antiretroviral drugs in optimising selection of drug combinations and sequences

High rates of viral replication throughout HIV infection, and the frequency of mutation occurring during each replication cycle due to the inaccuracy of reverse transcriptase, drive the potential for drug-resistant viral variants to appear under the selective pressure of antiretroviral therapy. Loss of antiviral effect with a variety of antiretroviral agents has been reported to coincide with the appearance of viral mutants with reduced drug sensitivity. Additionally, the presence of both phenotypic and genotypic zidovudine resistance is associated with an increased risk of clinical disease progression and death, independent of a change of therapy to didanosine. The patterns of resistance to and cross-resistance between antiretroviral agents are increasingly well characterised, and represent an important consideration when deciding how to combine and/or sequence antiretrovirals to achieve optimal antiviral effects. Given the limited number of antiretrovirals currently available or in advanced development, it is important not to potentially limit future therapeutic options by using, early in the treatment sequence, therapies which may select for cross-resistant viral variants and hence potentially reduce the additional therapeutic response when treatment is changed to another member of that drug class.