HIV-1 residual viremia correlates with persistent T-cell activation in poor immunological responders to combination antiretroviral therapy.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The clinical significance and cellular sources of residual human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) production despite suppressive combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) remain unclear and the effect of low-level viremia on T-cell homeostasis is still debated.

Methodology/principal findings

We characterized the recently produced residual viruses in the plasma and short-lived blood monocytes of 23 patients with various immunological responses to sustained suppressive cART. We quantified the residual HIV-1 in the plasma below 50 copies/ml, and in the CD14(high) CD16(-) and CD16+ monocyte subsets sorted by flow cytometry, and predicted coreceptor usage by genotyping V3 env sequences. We detected residual viremia in the plasma of 8 of 10 patients with poor CD4+

SUBMITTER: Mavigner M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2765414 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature