Elite suppressors harbor low levels of integrated HIV DNA and high levels of 2-LTR circular HIV DNA compared to HIV+ patients on and off HAART.

ABSTRACT: Elite suppressors (ES) are a rare population of HIV-infected individuals that are capable of naturally controlling the infection without the use of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART). Patients on HAART often achieve viral control to similar (undetectable) levels. Accurate and sensitive methods to measure viral burden are needed to elucidate important differences between these two patient populations in order to better understand their mechanisms of control. Viral burden quantification in ES patients has been limited to measurements of total DNA in PBMC, and estimates of Infectious Units per Million cells (IUPM). There appears to be no significant difference in the level of total HIV DNA between cells from ES patients and patients on HAART. However, recovering infectious virus fr

SUBMITTER: Graf EH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3044690 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature