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ABSTRACT: Introduction
Antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV-1 must be taken lifelong due to the persistence of latent virus in long-lived and proliferating CD4+ T cells. Vitamin D3 is a steroidal gene transcription regulator which exerts diverse effects on immune and epithelial cells including reductions in CD4+ T cell proliferation and improvement in gut barrier integrity. We hypothesised that a high dose of vitamin D3 would reduce the size of the HIV-1 reservoir by reducing CD4+ T cell proliferation.Methods
We performed a randomised placebo-controlled trial evaluating the effect of 24 weeks of vitamin D3 (10,000 international units per day) on the HIV-1 reservoir and immunologic parameters in 30 adults on antiretroviral therapy; participants were followed for 12 weeks post-treatment. The primary endpoint was the effect on total HIV-1 DNA at week 24. Parameters were assessed using mixed-effects models.Results
We found no effect of vitamin D3 on the change in total HIV-1 DNA from week 0 to week 24 relative to placebo. There were also no changes in integrated HIV-1 DNA, 2-long-terminal repeat (2-LTR) circles or cell-associated HIV-1 RNA. Vitamin D3 induced a significant increase in the proportion of central memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, a reduction in the proportion of senescent CD8+ T cells and a reduction in the natural killer cell frequency at all time points including week 36, 12 weeks after the study drug cessation. At week 36, there was a significant reduction in total HIV-1 DNA relative to placebo and persistently elevated 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. No significant safety issues were identified.Conclusions
Vitamin D3 administration had a significant impact on the T cell differentiation but overall effects on the HIV-1 reservoir were limited and a reduction in HIV-1 DNA was only seen following cessation of the study drug. Additional studies are required to determine whether the dose and duration of vitamin D3 can be optimised to promote a continued depletion of the HIV-1 reservoir over time.Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03426592.
SUBMITTER: Pitman MC
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10518338 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Pitman Matthew C MC Meagher Niamh N Price David J DJ Rhodes Ajantha A Chang J Judy JJ Scher Barbara B Allan Brent B Street Alan A McMahon James H JH Rasmussen Thomas A TA Cameron Paul U PU Hoy Jennifer F JF Kent Stephen J SJ Lewin Sharon R SR
Journal of virus eradication 20230829 3
<h4>Introduction</h4>Antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV-1 must be taken lifelong due to the persistence of latent virus in long-lived and proliferating CD4<sup>+</sup> T cells. Vitamin D<sub>3</sub> is a steroidal gene transcription regulator which exerts diverse effects on immune and epithelial cells including reductions in CD4<sup>+</sup> T cell proliferation and improvement in gut barrier integrity. We hypothesised that a high dose of vitamin D<sub>3</sub> would reduce the size ...[more]