Virtual memory CD8+ T cells restrain the viral reservoir in HIV-1-infected patients with antiretroviral therapy through derepressing KIR-mediated inhibition.

ABSTRACT: The viral reservoir is the major hurdle in developing and establishing an HIV cure. Understanding factors affecting the size and decay of this reservoir is crucial for the development of therapeutic strategies. Recent work highlighted that CD8+ T cells are involved in the control of viral replication in ART-treated HIV-1-infected individuals, but how CD8+ T cells sense and restrict the HIV reservoir are not fully understood. Here, we demonstrate that a population of unconventional CD45RA+, PanKIR+, and/or NKG2A+ virtual memory CD8+ T cells (T_VM cells), which confer rapid and robust protective immunity against pathogens, plays an important role in restraining the HIV DNA reservoir in HIV-1-infected patients with effective ART. In patients undergoing ART, T_VM cells nega

SUBMITTER: Jin JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7784989 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature