Residual viremia in an RT-SHIV rhesus macaque HAART model marked by the presence of a predominant plasma clone and a lack of viral evolution.

ABSTRACT: Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) significantly reduces HIV-1 replication and prevents progression to AIDS. However, residual low-level viremia (LLV) persists and long-lived viral reservoirs are maintained in anatomical sites. These reservoirs permit a recrudescence of viremia upon cessation of therapy and thus HAART must be maintained indefinitely. HIV-1 reservoirs include latently infected resting memory CD4⁺ T-cells and macrophages which may contribute to residual viremia. It has not been conclusively determined if a component of LLV may also be due to residual replication in cells with sub-therapeutic drug levels and/or long-lived chronically infected cells. In this study, RT-SHIV(mac239) diversity was characterized in five rhesus macaques that received a five-drug HAART reg

SUBMITTER: Kauffman RC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3914964 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature