Decay kinetics of HIV-1-RNA in seminal plasma with dolutegravir/lamivudine versus dolutegravir plus emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide in treatment-naive people living with HIV

BACKGROUND

This was a substudy of a Phase IV, randomized clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04295460) aiming to compare the activity of dolutegravir/lamivudine versus dolutegravir plus tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine (DTG + TAF/FTC) in the male genital tract.

METHODS

Participants were asymptomatic adults without sexually transmitted diseases, treatment-naive people living with HIV (PLWH), with CD4+ T cell counts >200 cells/mm3 and plasma HIV-1-RNA levels >5000 and <500 000 copies/mL, randomized (1:1) to DTG + TAF/FTC or dolutegravir/lamivudine. Blood plasma (BP) and seminal plasma (SP) were collected at baseline and Weeks 4, 8, 12 and 24. HIV-1-RNA was measured in BP and SP using the Cobas 6800 system (Roche Diagnostics) with a lower detection limit of 20 copies/mL. The primary efficacy endpoint was the proportion of subjects with undetectable SP HIV-1-RNA at Week 12 by intention-to-treat analysis.

RESULTS

Fifteen participants in the DTG + TAF/FTC and 16 in the dolutegravir/lamivudine arms were analysed, with basal SP viral load of 4.81 (4.30-5.43) and 4.76 (4.09-5.23), P = 0.469, respectively. At Week 12, only one participant in each treatment arm had a detectable SP HIV-1-RNA (DTG + TAF/FTC, 141 copies/mL; dolutegravir/lamivudine, 61 copies/mL). Based on the estimated means, there was no significant difference in the decay of HIV-1-RNA in both BP and SP over time between the two arms of treatment (F = 0.452, P = 0.662, and F = 1.147, P = 0.185, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

After 12 weeks of treatment, there were no differences in the percentage of undetectable SP HIV-1-RNA in naive PLWH who started dolutegravir/lamivudine compared with DTG + TAF/FTC.

A metagenome-wide association study of HIV disease progression in HIV controllers

Some HIV controllers experience immunologic progression with CD4⁺ T cell decline. We aimed to identify genetic factors associated with CD4⁺ T cell lost in HIV controllers. A total of 561 HIV controllers were included, 442 and 119 from the International HIV controllers Study Cohort and the Swiss HIV Cohort Study, respectively. No SNP or gene was associated with the long-term non-progressor HIV spontaneous control phenotype in the individual GWAS or in the meta-analysis. However, SNPs previously associated with natural HIV control linked to HLA-B (rs2395029 [p = 0.005; OR = 1.70], rs59440261 [p = 0.003; OR = 1.78]), MICA (rs112243036 [p = 0.011; OR = 1.45]), and PSORS1C1 loci (rs3815087 [p = 0.017; OR = 1.39]) showed nominal association with this phenotype. Genetic factors associated with the long-term HIV controllers without risk of immunologic progression are those previously related to the overall HIV controller phenotype.

Toll-like receptor agonists enhance HIV-specific T cell response mediated by plasmacytoid dendritic cells in diverse HIV-1 disease progression phenotypes

BACKGROUND

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) sense viral and bacterial products through Toll-like receptor (TLR)-7 and -9 and translate this sensing into Interferon-α (IFN-α) production and T-cell activation. The understanding of the mechanisms involved in pDCs stimulation may contribute to HIV-cure immunotherapeutic strategies. The objective of the present study was to characterize the immunomodulatory effects of TLR agonist stimulations in several HIV-1 disease progression phenotypes and in non HIV-1 infected donors.

METHODS

pDCs, CD4 and CD8 T-cells were isolated from 450 ml of whole blood from non HIV-1 infected donors, immune responders (IR), immune non responders (INR), viremic (VIR) and elite controller (EC) participants. pDCs were stimulated overnight with AT-2, CpG-A, CpG-C and GS-9620 or no stimuli. After that, pDCs were co-cultured with autologous CD4 or CD8 T-cells and with/without HIV-1 (Gag peptide pool) or SEB (Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B). Cytokine array, gene expression and deep immunophenotyping were assayed.

FINDINGS

pDCs showed an increase of activation markers levels, interferon related genes, HIV-1 restriction factors and cytokines levels after TLR stimulation in the different HIV-disease progression phenotypes. This pDC activation was prominent with CpG-C and GS-9620 and induced an increase of HIV-specific T-cell response even in VIR and INR comparable with EC. This HIV-1 specific T-cell response was associated with the upregulation of HIV-1 restriction factors and IFN-α production by pDC.

INTERPRETATION

These results shed light on the mechanisms associated with TLR-specific pDCs stimulation associated with the induction of a T-cell mediated antiviral response which is essential for HIV-1 eradication strategies.

FUNDING

This work was supported by Gilead fellowship program, the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, FEDER, "a way to make Europe") and the Red Temática de Investigación Cooperativa en SIDA and by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).

Circulating pyruvate is a potent prognostic marker for critical COVID-19 outcomes

Background

Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) disease is driven by an unchecked immune response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus which alters host mitochondrial-associated mechanisms. Compromised mitochondrial health results in abnormal reprogramming of glucose metabolism, which can disrupt extracellular signalling. We hypothesized that examining mitochondrial energy-related signalling metabolites implicated in host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection would provide potential biomarkers for predicting the risk of severe COVID-19 illness.

Methods

We used a semi-targeted serum metabolomics approach in 273 patients with different severity grades of COVID-19 recruited at the acute phase of the infection to determine the relative abundance of tricarboxylic acid (Krebs) cycle-related metabolites with known extracellular signaling properties (pyruvate, lactate, succinate and α-ketoglutarate). Abundance levels of energy-related metabolites were evaluated in a validation cohort (n=398) using quantitative fluorimetric assays.

Results

Increased levels of four energy-related metabolites (pyruvate, lactate, a-ketoglutarate and succinate) were found in critically ill COVID-19 patients using semi-targeted and targeted approaches (p&lt;0.05). The combined strategy proposed herein enabled us to establish that circulating pyruvate levels (p&lt;0.001) together with body mass index (p=0.025), C-reactive protein (p=0.039), D-Dimer (p&lt;0.001) and creatinine (p=0.043) levels, are independent predictors of critical COVID-19. Furthermore, classification and regression tree (CART) analysis provided a cut-off value of pyruvate in serum (24.54 µM; p&lt;0.001) as an early criterion to accurately classify patients with critical outcomes.

Conclusion

Our findings support the link between COVID-19 pathogenesis and immunometabolic dysregulation, and show that fluorometric quantification of circulating pyruvate is a cost-effective clinical decision support tool to improve patient stratification and prognosis prediction.

Clinical, laboratory data and inflammatory biomarkers at baseline as early discharge predictors in hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 infected patients

Background

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has overwhelmed hospital services due to the rapid transmission of the virus and its severity in a high percentage of cases. Having tools to predict which patients can be safely early discharged would help to improve this situation.

Methods

Patients confirmed as SARS-CoV-2 infection from four Spanish hospitals. Clinical, demographic, laboratory data and plasma samples were collected at admission. The patients were classified into mild and severe/critical groups according to 4-point ordinal categories based on oxygen therapy requirements. Logistic regression models were performed in mild patients with only clinical and routine laboratory parameters and adding plasma pro-inflammatory cytokine levels to predict both early discharge and worsening.

Results

333 patients were included. At admission, 307 patients were classified as mild patients. Age, oxygen saturation, Lactate Dehydrogenase, D-dimers, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and oral corticosteroids treatment were predictors of early discharge (area under curve (AUC), 0.786; sensitivity (SE) 68.5%; specificity (S), 74.5%; positive predictive value (PPV), 74.4%; and negative predictive value (NPV), 68.9%). When cytokines were included, lower interferon-γ-inducible protein 10 and higher Interleukin 1 beta levels were associated with early discharge (AUC, 0.819; SE, 91.7%; S, 56.6%; PPV, 69.3%; and NPV, 86.5%). The model to predict worsening included male sex, oxygen saturation, no corticosteroids treatment, C-reactive protein and Nod-like receptor as independent factors (AUC, 0.903; SE, 97.1%; S, 68.8%; PPV, 30.4%; and NPV, 99.4%). The model was slightly improved by including the determinations of interleukine-8, Macrophage inflammatory protein-1 beta and soluble IL-2Rα (CD25) (AUC, 0.952; SE, 97.1%; S, 98.1%; PPV, 82.7%; and NPV, 99.6%).

Conclusions

Clinical and routine laboratory data at admission strongly predict non-worsening during the first two weeks; therefore, these variables could help identify those patients who do not need a long hospitalization and improve hospital overcrowding. Determination of pro-inflammatory cytokines moderately improves these predictive capacities.

Viral Kinetics in Semen With Different Antiretroviral Families in Treatment-Naive Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Patients: A Randomized Trial

Background

There are several regimens for starting antiretroviral treatment, but it remains unknown whether either of them is more advantageous regarding the time course and magnitude of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) RNA decay in semen.

Objective

To evaluate the differential effect of different antiretroviral drug families on viral kinetics in seminal plasma (SP) of treatment-naive HIV-infected patients.

Methods

Phase II, randomized, open-label study in which participants were randomized 1:1:1 to receive tenofovir-disoproxil fumarate (DF) plus emtricitabine, and either cobicistat-boosted elvitegravir (EVGcobi), rilpivirine (RPV), or ritonavir-boosted darunavir (DRVrtv). The primary endpoint was the proportion of participants with undetectable HIV-RNA in SP at week 12. HIV type 1 (HIV-1) RNA was measured in paired SP and blood plasma (BP) at baseline and after 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 18, and 24 weeks. Elvitegravir (EVG), RPV, and darunavir (DRV) concentrations were quantified by the liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method.

Results

In SP, the HIV-RNA decay rate with RPV was as fast as with EVGcobi; by week 12, all participants in the RPV and the EVGcobi groups reached an undetectable viral load but only 58.3% in the DRVrtv arm (P = .003). The highest SP/BP drug concentration ratio was for EVG (0.43), followed-up by RPV (0.19), and DRV (0.10). For both EVG and RPV, the SP concentrations exceeded >2-fold the protein binding-adjusted EC90 for wild-type HIV-1; for DRV, only 33.7% of the SP showed concentrations above the protein binding-adjusted EC90.

Conclusions

In SP, both RPV and EVGcobi, associated to tenofovir-DF and emtricitabine, behave similarly and achieve an undetectable viral load much faster than DRVrtv.

Registration

European Medical Agency (No. EudraCT: 2014-001348-39).

Pharmacokinetic interactions between cobicistat-boosted elvitegravir and darunavir in HIV-infected patients

Objectives

To evaluate if there are significant drug-drug interactions between cobicistat-boosted elvitegravir and 800 mg darunavir once daily taken simultaneously, as has been suggested previously.

Methods

The study population consisted of three groups of unselected volunteers taking a regimen of elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (150, 150, 200 and 300 mg, respectively) co-formulated in a single tablet plus 800 mg darunavir (group A); only co-formulated elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (group B); and cobicistat-boosted darunavir (800 mg darunavir + 150 mg cobicistat) plus two nucleos(t)ide analogues (group C). Elvitegravir, cobicistat and darunavir concentrations at the end of the dosing interval ( C 24 ) were quantified using a validated LC with tandem MS method.

Results

A total of 170 samples were obtained from 24, 32 and 32 patients in groups A, B and C, respectively. In group A, the elvitegravir C 24 were similar to those in group B (233.67 versus 250.39 ng/mL) ( P  =   0.406) and the darunavir C 24 were similar to those in group C (1293.54 versus 1319.34 ng/mL) ( P  =   0.908). The cobicistat C 24 were comparable in groups A and B (20.2 versus 20.9 ng/mL) and slightly higher in group C (27.7 ng/mL) ( P  =   0.059).

Conclusions

The results provide evidence of similar elvitegravir and darunavir C 24 concentrations when these drugs are co-administered as co-formulated elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate plus 800 mg darunavir or dosed separately.

HIV-1 p24 and CD4+ T cell count during boosted protease-inhibitor monotherapy in HIV-infected patients

BACKGROUND

Plasma HIV p24 is considered a significant predictor of CD4⁺ T cell decline and progression to AIDS in HIV-infected patients. We evaluated the p24 levels in patients on triple therapy and after switching to ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor monotherapy (mtPI/rtv), as well as the relationships with virological and immunological evolution.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Plasma samples from patients participating in two studies of simplification to mtPI/rtv were analysed for presence of p24, using a boosted enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay specific for mature p24. Only patients with available samples at baseline (on triple therapy) and during a follow-up of at least 12 months after switching to mtPI/rtv were included.

RESULTS

A total of 233 samples from 51 patients were analysed. After switching to mtPI/rtv and a median follow-up of 24 months, 14 patients maintained continuous undetectable viraemia, and 37 patients experienced a total of 49 transient viraemic episodes. Unexpectedly, the evolutionary p24 patterns were uniform for most patients, both before and after switching to mtPI/rtv, independently of the virological behaviour, fitting into one of three categories: persistent undetectable p24 levels, positive p24, matching only with the viraemic episodes, and persistent detectable p24 levels. The last group showed lower CD4⁺ T cell counts and percentages, as well as lower CD4⁺/CD8⁺ T cell ratios after 12 and 24 months of follow up.

CONCLUSION

Treatment simplification to mtPI/rtv does not influence the behaviour of p24 in plasma. Patients with continuous positive p24, despite undetectable viraemia, showed worse immunological evolution.

Pharmacokinetic food-effect study of abiraterone acetate (AA) in patients with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC): The ABIFOOD trial (EudraCt number: 2012-003226-25)

227

Background: A.A has been approved for the treatment of mCRPC before and after docetaxel. The standard regime consists on daily A.A. 1.000 mg in a fasting state along with prednisone 10mg q.d. However, data from pharmacokinetic (PK) studies in patients (pts) and healthy volunteers has revealed a significant food-effect with up to 7-10 folder increase in area under plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) when A.A is given with food, specially with fat content, [Chi KN, J Clin Pharmacol 2015]. Methods: ABIFOOD is a phase I, randomized trial to evaluate the short and long-term effect of diet on the PKs of A.A. in pts with mCRPC who have progressed to docetaxel. Eligible pts include men ≥ 18 years old with mCRPC, ECOG performance status (PS) < 2 and an adequate organ function. Pts are randomly assigned to receive 4-weekly cycles of 250 mg A.A with standard meal (Arm A), 250 mg A.A with high-fat meal (Arm B) or 1000 mg A.A in fasting conditions (Arm C). PK analyses are conducted at week 1 (W1) and cycle 5. Results: Fifteen pts (5, 3 and 7 in arms A, B and C respectively) have been included and 6 are still on treatment. Median age is 72, 97% have ECOG-PS 1. Gleason Score is > 8 in 6 (40%) pts.Geometric mean abiraterone [AUC (ng.h/ml) (IQR)] at W1 did not significantly differ between treatment arms [arm A: 404.68 (368.4 - 488.2), arm B: 372 (334.6 - 440.5) arm C: 656.51 (387.8 – 1144.5) p 0.15]. PK data did not influence activity or toxicity. Progression free survival was 8.50, 6.33 and 4.86 months in Arms A, B and C respectively (p 0.53). One patient in arm A is still on treatment after 17 cycles. Conclusions: The administration of lower doses of A.A with food [regardless the fat content], might achieve comparable plasma levels to standard dosing with no detriment in efficacy or toxicity parameters. The study is actively recruiting and data on additional pts and long term PK parameters will be presented. Clinical trial information: EudraCt number: 2012-003226-25.

Higher Activation in CD4(+) T Cells But Similar Viral Control Among HIV/Hepatitis C Virus-Coinfected Patients on a Simplification Monotherapy

The aim of this study was to assess whether hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection would affect the clinical and immunological outcome of HIV-infected patients following a simplification strategy. A prospective cohort of HIV-infected patients starting a ritonavir boosted darunavir monotherapy (mtDRV/rtv) was followed for 24 months. HCV infection was evaluated by HCV viremia and hepatic fibrosis. Immune activation was studied as HLA-DR CD38 coexpression on CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells and also the quantification of plasma sCD14 levels. Microbial translocation was studied by the plasma levels of 16S rDNA and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). A total of 150 HIV-infected patients were enrolled in this study, including 46 individuals also infected with HCV (30.6%). HIV/HCV coinfection did not decrease mtDRV/rtv efficacy, since similar rates of HIV-1 intermittent viremia (HCV: 26.6% vs. no-HCV: 34.7%) and episodes of virological failure (HCV: 22.2% vs. no-HCV: 11.2%, p-value = 0.381) were found. No major differences were found between both groups at baseline, although higher HLA-DR(+)CD38(+)CD4(+) T cell counts were found in the coinfected group (HCV: 6.65% vs. no-HCV: 4.55%, p-value = 0.032); this difference was maintained in the 24 months of follow-up. After the 24-month follow-up, both groups, HIV-monoinfected patients and HIV/HCV-coinfected patients, presented similar immune activation and microbial translocation profiles. In conclusion, the use of a simplified mtDRV/rtv strategy compromises neither HIV nor HCV viremic control in coinfected patients, although a higher immune activation of CD4(+) T cells was found.

Dimension of chronic hepatitis C virus in HIV-infected patients in the interferon-free era: an overview from south Spain

The implementation of hepatitis C (HCV) direct-acting antiviral drugs is prioritized in several populations in which its application provides the most immediate and impactful benefit. In this scenario, a precise knowledge of the situation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/HCV chronic co-infection is required to adequately address this disease. This cross-sectional study was performed in 21 hospitals in Andalusia (Spain). The study population consisted of HIV-infected patients with an active HCV chronic infection who were not receiving HCV treatment at the time of inclusion. A total of 13,506 HIV-infected patients were included in the study. Of them, 2561 (18.9 %) presented chronic HCV infection. The majority of the patients included were on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART; 96.2 %), showed plasma levels with an undetectable HIV viral load (92.5 %), and had a good immunological status (median CD4+ cell count of 486 cells/mL). The HCV genotype distribution was as follows: 58.1 % were genotype 1, 1.1 % were genotype 2, 16.1 % were genotype 3, and 22.1 % were genotype 4 (2.6 % were missing data). In total, 24.8 % of the patients showed liver fibrosis stage F0-F1, 27.9 % showed stage F2, 16.7 % showed stage F3, and 21 % showed stage F4 (9.6 % were missing data). With regards to previous HCV treatment experiences, 68.05 % of the patients were naïve and 31.95 % had failed to respond to a previous treatment. The burden of HCV/HIV co-infected patients in our population was reported as one in five HIV-infected patients requiring HCV treatment. The implementation of extra resources to face this important health challenge is mandatory.

Does Once-Daily Raltegravir Have Any Role in the Antiretroviral Treatment?

Administering raltegravir once daily would make adherence to antiretroviral treatment easier, especially if the concomitant drugs are also administered once daily. We report our experience on the use of raltegravir, both once- and twice-daily.Retrospective review of HIV-infected patients on treatment with raltegravir 800 mg once or 400 mg twice a day plus 2 analogs. Patients were classified as group A (subjects switched to raltegravir due to adverse events on a previous regimen or drug-drug interactions) and group B (subjects who restarted antiretroviral treatment after a previous drop-out). The primary clinical endpoint was the percentage of subjects with virological suppression after 96 weeks. Treatment's effectiveness (noncomplete/missing equals failure) was also evaluated. Pharmacokinetic study was performed in unselected patients. Plasma raltegravir concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.A total of 133 patients were included in the study (74 and 59 on raltegravir once- and twice-daily). There were only 4 virological failures in the entire cohort during the follow-up. Thus, the Kaplan-Meier estimation of efficacy by on-treatment analysis was 96.3% (CI95, 92.8-99.8) at week 96, independently of the dosing regimen and of the raltegravir concentrations. Similar exposures to raltegravir based on AUC0-τ, but higher Cmax and significantly lower Ctrough were observed when raltegravir was given once daily compared with 400 mg twice daily. In fact, 14 out of 56 Ctrough concentrations (25%) from patients taking raltegravir once daily were below the IC95 of wild-type HIV-1 clinical isolates while only 2 samples from patients receiving 400 mg twice a day were below this value, although no relationship between Ctrough and efficacy was found. The main limitations of the study are that the raltegravir dosing regimen was not randomized and more than 50% of the patients were virologically suppressed at baseline.Regimens comprising raltegravir 800 mg once daily plus 2 nucleos(t)ide reverse transcriptase inhibitors can be an efficacious and safe option, particularly in virologically suppressed patients and those with a viral load <100,000 copies/mL.

Low concordance and resistance mutation emergence in the HIV protease gene among circulating and cell-associated viruses at viral replication episodes during darunavir/ritonavir monotherapy

OBJECTIVE

To assess the changes on the HIV protease gene in plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) compartments during viral replication episodes in patients on boosted-darunavir monotherapy (mtDRV/rtv).

METHODS

A prospective study was carried out in which adult HIV-1-infected patients who started mtDRV/rtv after viral suppression for ≥ 6 months with no major darunavir-related resistance mutations were enrolled. Patients with two consecutive plasma HIV RNA measurements >200 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL were considered as having virological failure (VF), while patients with two consecutive plasma HIV RNA measurements >50 copies/mL without meeting the VF criteria were considered to have virological rebound (VR). HIV protease genotypic profiles from plasma and PBMCs were performed at baseline and at VF and VR episodes.

RESULTS

One hundred and fifty patients were included in the study, with overall VF and VR rates of 14% (n=21) and 14.7% (n=22), respectively. No major darunavir resistance mutations were observed in the plasma or PBMC samples. Circulating and cell-associated viruses showed a wild-type protease gene sequence in 54% and 23% of patients, respectively while the remainder patients only harboured minor protease inhibitor-associated mutations. Full concordance between plasma RNA and PBMC DNA protease genotypes was found in 23% of the sequences.

CONCLUSIONS

No darunavir-related mutations were found in patients with VF or VR, either in plasma or in PBMCs; thus, simplification to mtDRV/rtv does not comprise future antiretroviral treatment options.

Impact of the peginterferon-α 2a and ribavirin plasma levels on viral kinetics and sustained virological response in genotype 1 HCV/HIV-co-infected patients with the unfavourable non-CC IL28B genotypes

Studies on the association between the peginterferon-α and ribavirin levels and sustained virological response (SVR) have shown yielded conflicting results, but most of them were performed before the influence of IL28B polymorphisms was known. Our aim was to assess the effects of peginterferon-α 2a and ribavirin plasma levels on viral kinetics and SVR in hepatitis C virus genotype 1 HCV-1/HIV-co-infected patients according to IL28B genotype. This was a cohort study of HCV-1/HIV-co-infected patients who were HCV-treatment naïve and for whom the efficacy of peginterferon-α 2a plus ribavirin was evaluated by per-protocol analysis. The peginterferon-α 2a and ribavirin levels were measured by ELISA and HPLC-UV, respectively. The relationships among host and viral factors, the trough drugs levels and virological responses were analysed by multivariate regression analyses. A total of 131 Caucasian patients were included (cirrhosis:38.9%). Overall, SVR rate was 39.6%. In patients with CC IL28B genotype, SVR was related neither to peginterferon-α 2a nor to ribavirin plasma levels, while higher levels of both drugs were the only variables independently associated with SVR in individuals with CT/TT IL28B genotypes (OR, 5.02; CI95 , 1.45-17.1; P = 0.001 and 4.0; CI95 , 1.08-14.7; P = 0.038, respectively). Moreover, faster viral declines were observed in CT/TT patients when pegIFN-α 2a and ribavirin plasma levels were greater than 3400 pg/mL and 1.6 μg/mL, respectively. In contrast to the results for CC patients, the results in patients carrying the unfavourable CT/TT IL28B genotypes showed that plasma levels of both drugs have significant effects on viral kinetics and SVR.

Role of ritonavir in the drug interactions between telaprevir and ritonavir-boosted atazanavir

BACKGROUND

Detrimental bidirectional pharmacokinetic interactions have been observed when telaprevir (TVR) and ritonavir (RTV)-boosted human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) protease inhibitors are coadministered in healthy volunteers. Our aim was to evaluate the role of RTV in the bidirectional TVR and atazanavir (ATV) interactions.

METHOD

An open-label, sequential study was carried out in hepatitis C virus (HCV)/HIV-coinfected patients on a RTV-boosted ATV-based (ATVr) antiretroviral regimen (300/100 mg every 24 hours) and triple therapy for chronic C hepatitis genotype 1 (TVR, 1125 mg every 12 hours, pegylated interferon-alpha and ribavirin). Pharmacokinetic profiles were acquired before and after switching from ATVr to unboosted ATV (200 mg every 12 hours). The plasma levels of both drugs were determined by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by noncompartmental analysis and compared by geometric mean ratios and their 90% confidence intervals.

RESULTS

Fourteen white HCV/HIV-coinfected males were enrolled in this study. After RTV was withdrawn, the TVR AUC(0-12) (area under the concentration-time curve), maximum concentration (C(max)), and minimum concentration (C(min)) values increased by 19% (7%-30%), 12% (0.9%-29%), and 18% (2%-34%), respectively, without any changes in the TVR terminal half-life. The ATV AUC(0-12), C(max), and C(min) values were 39% (13%-66%), 19% (8%-59%), and 48% (1%-96%) higher, respectively, with a significantly shorter terminal half-life (22.6 hours vs 10.4 hours).

CONCLUSIONS

RTV is responsible for the adverse interactions that occur when TVR and ATVr are administered together, possibly by influencing either the absorption phase or first-pass metabolism of TVR. The boost effect of TVR on ATV exposure is higher than on RTV, despite its shorter terminal half-life. The coadministration of TVR and unboosted ATV results in increased exposure of both drugs compared with their coadministration with RTV.

CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01818856. European Medicines Agency EudraCT no. 2012-002515-25.

The IL28B effect on hepatitis C virus kinetics among HIV patients after the first weeks of pegylated-interferon/ribavirin treatment varies according to hepatitis C virus-1 subtype

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the IL28B effect on hepatitis C virus (HCV) decline during first weeks of treatment according to HCV-1 subtypes.

METHODS

Patients coinfected with HIV/HCV genotype 1 and naive to peginterferon-alpha-2a and ribavirin (Peg-IFN-alpha-2a/RBV) were included. Plasma HCV-RNA was measured at baseline, and then at weeks 1, 2, and 4. HCV-1 subtype (1a or 1b) was determined. HCV viral decline was analyzed according to HCV-1 subtype between baseline and week 1, week 2 and week 4 of treatment. Additionally, we analyzed the effect of the IL28B (rs12979860) genotype on HCV viral decline with HCV-1a and HCV-1b genotype patients (CC versus non-CC).

RESULTS

Two hundred and six patients were included in the study, of whom 113 (54.8%) and 93 (45.2%) were infected by HCV-1a and 1b genotypes, respectively. No differences were found between HCV-1 subtypes in terms of HCV viral decline or rapid virological response rate. The effect of the IL28B-CC genotype on HCV viral decline was observed only among patients infected with HCV-1b at all time points analyzed (week 1: CC 1.53 ± 0.33, non-CC 0.27 ± 0.24, P <0.001; week 2: CC 1.81 ± 0.39, non-CC 0.74 ± 0.39, P = 0.002; week 4: CC 2.97 ± 0.53, non-CC 1.2 ± 0.61, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Our study suggests that the effect associated with the impact of the IL28B-CC genotype on HCV decline during the first weeks of treatment with Peg-IFN-alpha-2a/RBV differs according to HCV-1 subtype and may be limited to HCV-1b patients.