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Chong SCS, Lim G, Machon K, Mugwagwa H, Johnson J, Le Gautier R, Power J. Missing voices: building women living with HIV's meaningful engagement in HIV clinical and cure research. CULTURE, HEALTH & SEXUALITY 2024:1-17. [PMID: 39340190 DOI: 10.1080/13691058.2024.2408353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2024] [Accepted: 09/20/2024] [Indexed: 09/30/2024]
Abstract
Women living with HIV are consistently under-represented in HIV clinical trials, including cure trials. Little is known about how cisgender women living with HIV in Australia perceive HIV cure research, their level of trust in research institutions/staff, and factors salient to participation in HIV cure trials. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with women living with HIV and clinicians working with women living with HIV to investigate motivations and barriers to gender-equitable representation in HIV clinical research. Participant motivations for participation included altruistic desires to benefit younger women, and to optimise resulting interventions. Women living with HIV expressed optimism that a cure would dispel HIV-related stigma and brings about substantial material improvement to their lives. Reluctance to participate related to concerns regarding potential side-effects, antiretroviral treatment interruption, and impacts on fertility. Unfamiliarity with trials, confidentiality concerns and logistical difficulties were also cited. Lastly, onerous eligibility criteria, clinicians' assumptions about women's willingness and ability to meaningfully provide consent to participation were cited as barriers which could be addressed. Bolstering women's participation in HIV cure research requires consideration of factors relating to reproductive health, analytical treatment interruption, and recruitment. Engaging women living with HIV in trial design and promotion may help overcome these issues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan C S Chong
- Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Public Health, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Gene Lim
- Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
| | | | | | - Jennifer Johnson
- Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Roslyn Le Gautier
- Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Jennifer Power
- Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
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Salgado M, Migueles SA, Yu XG, Martinez-Picado J. Exceptional, naturally occurring HIV-1 control: Insight into a functional cure. MED 2024; 5:1071-1082. [PMID: 39013460 PMCID: PMC11411266 DOI: 10.1016/j.medj.2024.06.008] [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: 02/02/2024] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024]
Abstract
Exceptional elite controllers represent an extremely rare group of people with HIV-1 (PWH) who exhibit spontaneous, high-level control of viral replication below the limits of detection in sensitive clinical monitoring assays and without disease progression in the absence of antiretroviral therapy for prolonged periods, frequently exceeding 25 years. Here, we discuss the different cases that have been reported in the scientific literature, their unique genetic, virological, and immunological characteristics, and their relevance as the best model for the functional cure of HIV-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Salgado
- IrsiCaixa Immunopathology Research Institute, 08916 Badalona, Spain; CIBERINFEC, 28029 Madrid, Spain; Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), 08916 Badalona, Spain
| | - Stephen A Migueles
- Laboratory of Immunoregulation, Division of Intramural Research, and Collaborative Clinical Research Branch, Division of Clinical Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Xu G Yu
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Infectious Disease Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Javier Martinez-Picado
- IrsiCaixa Immunopathology Research Institute, 08916 Badalona, Spain; CIBERINFEC, 28029 Madrid, Spain; University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), 08500 Vic, Spain; Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), 08010 Barcelona, Spain.
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Holmberg CS, Levinger C, Abongwa M, Ceriani C, Archin NM, Siegel M, Ghosh M, Bosque A. HIV-1 latency reversal and immune enhancing activity of IL-15 is not influenced by sex hormones. JCI Insight 2024; 9:e180609. [PMID: 39078714 PMCID: PMC11389825 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.180609] [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: 02/26/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 09/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The role of different biological variables including biological sex, age, and sex hormones in Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cure approaches is not well understood. The γc-cytokine IL-15 is a clinically relevant cytokine that promotes immune activation and mediates HIV reactivation from latency. In this work, we examined the interplay that biological sex, age, and sex hormones 17β-estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone may have on the biological activity of IL-15. We found that IL-15-mediated CD4+ T cell activation was higher in female donors than in male donors. This difference was abrogated at high 17β-estradiol concentration. Additionally, there was a positive correlation between age and both IL-15-mediated CD8+ T cell activation and IFN-γ production. In a primary cell model of latency, biological sex, age, or sex hormones did not influence the ability of IL-15 to reactivate latent HIV. Finally, 17β-estradiol did not consistently affect reactivation of translation-competent reservoirs in CD4+ T cells from people living with HIV who are antiretroviral therapy (ART) suppressed. Our study has found that biological sex and age, but not sex hormones, may influence some of the biological activities of IL-15. Understanding how different biological variables may affect HIV cure therapies will help us evaluate current and future clinical trials aimed toward HIV cure in diverse populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carissa S Holmberg
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA
| | - Callie Levinger
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA
| | - Marie Abongwa
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA
| | - Cristina Ceriani
- UNC HIV Cure Center and
- Department of Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Nancie M Archin
- UNC HIV Cure Center and
- Department of Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Marc Siegel
- The George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington DC, USA
| | - Mimi Ghosh
- Department of Epidemiology, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA
| | - Alberto Bosque
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA
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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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Masenga SK, Mweene BC, Luwaya E, Muchaili L, Chona M, Kirabo A. HIV-Host Cell Interactions. Cells 2023; 12:1351. [PMID: 37408185 DOI: 10.3390/cells12101351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Revised: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The development of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) was a great milestone in the management of HIV infection. ARVs suppress viral activity in the host cell, thus minimizing injury to the cells and prolonging life. However, an effective treatment has remained elusive for four decades due to the successful immune evasion mechanisms of the virus. A thorough understanding of the molecular interaction of HIV with the host cell is essential in the development of both preventive and curative therapies for HIV infection. This review highlights several inherent mechanisms of HIV that promote its survival and propagation, such as the targeting of CD4+ lymphocytes, the downregulation of MHC class I and II, antigenic variation and an envelope complex that minimizes antibody access, and how they collaboratively render the immune system unable to mount an effective response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sepiso K Masenga
- HAND Research Group, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Mulungushi University, Livingstone Campus, Livingstone 10101, Zambia
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Room 536 Robinson Research Building, Nashville, TN 37232-6602, USA
| | - Bislom C Mweene
- HAND Research Group, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Mulungushi University, Livingstone Campus, Livingstone 10101, Zambia
| | - Emmanuel Luwaya
- HAND Research Group, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Mulungushi University, Livingstone Campus, Livingstone 10101, Zambia
| | - Lweendo Muchaili
- HAND Research Group, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Mulungushi University, Livingstone Campus, Livingstone 10101, Zambia
| | - Makondo Chona
- HAND Research Group, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Mulungushi University, Livingstone Campus, Livingstone 10101, Zambia
| | - Annet Kirabo
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Room 536 Robinson Research Building, Nashville, TN 37232-6602, USA
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Pérez-López FR, Fernández-Alonso AM, Mezones-Holguín E, Vieira-Baptista P. Low genitourinary tract risks in women living with the human immunodeficiency virus. Climacteric 2023:1-7. [PMID: 37054721 DOI: 10.1080/13697137.2023.2194528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/15/2023]
Abstract
This review analyzes the clinical associations between specific low genitourinary tract clinical circumstances in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women living with human immunodeficiency virus (WLHIV). Modern antiretroviral therapy (ART) improves survival and reduces opportunistic infections and HIV transmission. Despite appropriate ART, WLHIV may display menstrual dysfunction, risk of early menopause, vaginal microbiome alterations, vaginal dryness, dyspareunia, vasomotor symptoms and low sexual function as compared to women without the infection. They have increased risks of intraepithelial and invasive cervical, vaginal and vulvar cancers. The reduced immunity capacity may also increase the risk of urinary tract infections, side-effects or toxicity of ARTs, and opportunistic infections. Menstrual dysfunction and early menopause may contribute to the early onset of vascular atherosclerosis and plaque formation, and increased osteoporosis risks requiring specific early interventions. On the other hand, the association between being postmenopausal and having a low sexual function is significant and related to low adherence to ART. WLHIV deserve a specific approach to manage different low genitourinary risks and complications related to hormone dysfunction and early menopause.
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Affiliation(s)
- F R Pérez-López
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
- Obstetrics and Reproduction, Instituto Aragonés de Ciencias de la Salud, Zaragoza, Spain
| | | | - E Mezones-Holguín
- Centro de Estudios Económicos y Sociales en Salud, Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Lima, Perú
| | - P Vieira-Baptista
- Department of Gynecology-Obstetrics and Pediatrics, Hospital Lusíadas Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Lower Genital Tract Unit, Centro Hospitalar de São João, Porto, Portugal
- Department of Gynecology-Obstetrics and Pediatrics, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
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