The spleen is an HIV-1 sanctuary during combined antiretroviral therapy

DJ Nolan, R Rose, PH Rodriguez, M Salemi… - AIDS research and …, 2018 - liebertpub.com
DJ Nolan, R Rose, PH Rodriguez, M Salemi, EJ Singer, SL Lamers, MS McGrath
AIDS research and human retroviruses, 2018liebertpub.com
Combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) does not eradicate HIV, which persists for years and
can re-establish replication if treatment is stopped. The current challenge is identifying those
tissues harboring virus through cART. Here, we used HIV env-nef single genome
sequencing and HIV gag droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) to survey 50 tissues from five subjects
on cART with no detectable plasma viral load at death. The spleen most consistently
contained multiple proviral and expressed sequences (4/5 participants). Spleen-derived HIV …
Abstract
Combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) does not eradicate HIV, which persists for years and can re-establish replication if treatment is stopped. The current challenge is identifying those tissues harboring virus through cART. Here, we used HIV env-nef single genome sequencing and HIV gag droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) to survey 50 tissues from five subjects on cART with no detectable plasma viral load at death. The spleen most consistently contained multiple proviral and expressed sequences (4/5 participants). Spleen-derived HIV demonstrated two distinct phylogenetic patterns: multiple identical sequences, often from different tissues, as well as diverse viral sequences on long terminal branches. Our results suggested that ddPCR may overestimate the size of the tissue-based viral reservoir. The spleen, a lymphatic organ at the intersection of the immune and circulatory systems, may play a key role in viral persistence.
Mary Ann Liebert