Persistence of viral RNA in lymph nodes in ART-suppressed SIV/SHIV-infected Rhesus Macaques.

ABSTRACT: The establishment of a long-lived viral reservoir is the key obstacle for achieving an HIV-1 cure. However, the anatomic, virologic, and immunologic features of the viral reservoir in tissues during antiretroviral therapy (ART) remain poorly understood. Here we present a comprehensive necroscopic analysis of the SIV/SHIV viral reservoir in multiple lymphoid and non-lymphoid tissues from SIV/SHIV-infected rhesus macaques suppressed with ART for one year. Viral DNA is observed broadly in multiple tissues and is comparable in animals that had initiated ART at week 1 or week 52 of infection. In contrast, viral RNA is restricted primarily to lymph nodes. Ongoing viral RNA transcription is not the result of unsuppressed viral replication, as single-genome amplification and subsequent phylogeneti

SUBMITTER: Cadena AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7935896 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature