Levels of Human Immunodeficiency Virus DNA Are Determined Before ART Initiation and Linked to CD8 T-Cell Activation and Memory Expansion

Abstract
Initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in early compared with chronic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is associated with a smaller HIV reservoir. This longitudinal analysis of 60 individuals who began ART during primary HIV infection (PHI) investigates which pre- and posttherapy factors best predict HIV DNA levels (a correlate of reservoir size) after treatment initiation during PHI. The best predictor of HIV DNA at 1 year was pre-ART HIV DNA, which was in turn significantly associated with CD8 memory T-cell differentiation (effector memory, naive, and T-bet−Eomes− subsets), CD8 T-cell activation (CD38 expression) and T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin-domain containing-3 (Tim-3) expression on memory T cells. No associations were found for any immunological variables after 1 year of ART. Levels of HIV DNA are determined around the time of ART initiation in individuals treated during PHI. CD8 T-cell activation and memory expansion are linked to HIV DNA levels, suggesting the importance of the initial host-viral interplay in eventual reservoir size.
Description
Keywords
HIV, HIV reservoir, primary HIV infection, T cells
Citation
Martin, G. E., Pace, M., Shearer, F. M., Zilber, E., Hurst, J., Meyerowitz, J., ... & Frater, J. (2020). Levels of human immunodeficiency virus DNA are determined before ART initiation and linked to CD8 T-cell activation and memory expansion. The Journal of infectious diseases, 221(7), 1135-1145.https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiz563