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Joussef-Piña S, Nankya I, Nalukwago S, Baseke J, Rwambuya S, Winner D, Kyeyune F, Chervenak K, Thiel B, Asaad R, Dobrowolski C, Luttge B, Lawley B, Kityo CM, Boom WH, Karn J, Quiñones-Mateu ME. Reduced and highly diverse peripheral HIV-1 reservoir in virally suppressed patients infected with non-B HIV-1 strains in Uganda. Retrovirology 2022; 19:1. [PMID: 35033105 PMCID: PMC8760765 DOI: 10.1186/s12977-022-00587-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Our understanding of the peripheral human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reservoir is strongly biased towards subtype B HIV-1 strains, with only limited information available from patients infected with non-B HIV-1 subtypes, which are the predominant viruses seen in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) in Africa and Asia. RESULTS In this study, blood samples were obtained from well-suppressed ART-experienced HIV-1 patients monitored in Uganda (n = 62) or the U.S. (n = 50), with plasma HIV-1 loads < 50 copies/ml and CD4+ T-cell counts > 300 cells/ml. The peripheral HIV-1 reservoir, i.e., cell-associated HIV-1 RNA and proviral DNA, was characterized using our novel deep sequencing-based EDITS assay. Ugandan patients were slightly younger (median age 43 vs 49 years) and had slightly lower CD4+ counts (508 vs 772 cells/ml) than U.S. individuals. All Ugandan patients were infected with non-B HIV-1 subtypes (31% A1, 64% D, or 5% C), while all U.S. individuals were infected with subtype B viruses. Unexpectedly, we observed a significantly larger peripheral inducible HIV-1 reservoir in U.S. patients compared to Ugandan individuals (48 vs. 11 cell equivalents/million cells, p < 0.0001). This divergence in reservoir size was verified measuring proviral DNA (206 vs. 88 cell equivalents/million cells, p < 0.0001). However, the peripheral HIV-1 reservoir was more diverse in Ugandan than in U.S. individuals (8.6 vs. 4.7 p-distance, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS The smaller, but more diverse, peripheral HIV-1 reservoir in Ugandan patients might be associated with viral (e.g., non-B subtype with higher cytopathicity) and/or host (e.g., higher incidence of co-infections or co-morbidities leading to less clonal expansion) factors. This highlights the need to understand reservoir dynamics in diverse populations as part of ongoing efforts to find a functional cure for HIV-1 infection in LMICs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samira Joussef-Piña
- Departments of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Immaculate Nankya
- Center for AIDS Research Uganda Laboratories, Joint Clinical Research Centre, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Sophie Nalukwago
- Center for AIDS Research Uganda Laboratories, Joint Clinical Research Centre, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Joy Baseke
- Center for AIDS Research Uganda Laboratories, Joint Clinical Research Centre, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Sandra Rwambuya
- Center for AIDS Research Uganda Laboratories, Joint Clinical Research Centre, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Dane Winner
- Departments of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Fred Kyeyune
- Center for AIDS Research Uganda Laboratories, Joint Clinical Research Centre, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Keith Chervenak
- Departments of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Bonnie Thiel
- Departments of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Robert Asaad
- Departments of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Curtis Dobrowolski
- Departments of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Benjamin Luttge
- Departments of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Blair Lawley
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, 720 Cumberland Street, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Cissy M Kityo
- Center for AIDS Research Uganda Laboratories, Joint Clinical Research Centre, Kampala, Uganda
| | - W Henry Boom
- Center for AIDS Research Uganda Laboratories, Joint Clinical Research Centre, Kampala, Uganda
- Departments of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Jonathan Karn
- Departments of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
- Center for AIDS Research Uganda Laboratories, Joint Clinical Research Centre, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Miguel E Quiñones-Mateu
- Center for AIDS Research Uganda Laboratories, Joint Clinical Research Centre, Kampala, Uganda.
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, 720 Cumberland Street, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand.
- Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
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