Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Viruses. 2023 Apr 20;15(4):1009. doi: 10.3390/v15041009.
HIV establishes a persistent viral reservoir in the brain despite viral suppression in blood to undetectable levels on antiretroviral therapy (ART). The brain viral reservoir in virally suppressed HIV+ individuals is not well-characterized. In this study, intact, defective, and total HIV proviral genomes were measured in frontal lobe white matter from 28 virally suppressed individuals on ART using the intact proviral DNA assay (IPDA). HIV gag DNA/RNA levels were measured using single-copy assays and expression of 78 genes related to inflammation and white matter integrity was measured using the NanoString platform. Intact proviral DNA was detected in brain tissues of 18 of 28 (64%) individuals on suppressive ART. The median proviral genome copy numbers in brain tissue as measured by the IPDA were: intact, 10 (IQR 1-92); 3' defective, 509 (225-858); 5' defective, 519 (273-906); and total proviruses, 1063 (501-2074) copies/10 cells. Intact proviral genomes accounted for less than 10% (median 8.3%) of total proviral genomes in the brain, while 3' and 5' defective genomes accounted for 44% and 49%, respectively. There was no significant difference in median copy number of intact, defective, or total proviruses between groups stratified by neurocognitive impairment (NCI) vs. no NCI. In contrast, there was an increasing trend in intact proviruses in brains with vs. without neuroinflammatory pathology (56 vs. 5 copies/10 cells, = 0.1), but no significant differences in defective or total proviruses. Genes related to inflammation, stress responses, and white matter integrity were differentially expressed in brain tissues with >5 vs. +5 intact proviruses/10 cells. These findings suggest that intact HIV proviral genomes persist in the brain at levels comparable to those reported in blood and lymphoid tissues and increase CNS inflammation/immune activation despite suppressive ART, indicating the importance of targeting the CNS reservoir to achieve HIV cure.
尽管抗逆转录病毒疗法 (ART) 可将血液中的病毒载量抑制到无法检测的水平,但 HIV 仍会在大脑中建立持续的病毒储存库。在接受 ART 抑制病毒的 HIV+个体中,大脑中的病毒储存库尚未得到充分研究。在这项研究中,我们使用完整前病毒 DNA 检测法 (IPDA),对 28 名接受 ART 的病毒抑制个体的额叶白质中的完整、缺陷和总 HIV 前病毒基因组进行了测量。使用单拷贝检测法测量了 HIV gag DNA/RNA 水平,并使用 NanoString 平台测量了与炎症和白质完整性相关的 78 个基因的表达。在 28 名接受抑制性 ART 的个体中,有 18 名(64%)的脑组织中检测到完整的前病毒 DNA。通过 IPDA 测量,脑组织中前病毒基因组拷贝数的中位数如下:完整,10(IQR 1-92);3'缺陷,509(225-858);5'缺陷,519(273-906);总前病毒,1063(501-2074)拷贝/10 细胞。完整的前病毒基因组在大脑中的比例不到总前病毒的 10%(中位数 8.3%),而 3'和 5'缺陷基因组分别占 44%和 49%。根据神经认知障碍(NCI)与无 NCI 分层的组间,完整、缺陷或总前病毒的中位数拷贝数无显著差异。相比之下,在有神经炎症病理与无神经炎症病理的大脑中,完整前病毒呈增加趋势(56 与 5 拷贝/10 细胞, = 0.1),但缺陷或总前病毒无显著差异。在完整前病毒/10 细胞>5 与>10 细胞的脑组织中,与炎症、应激反应和白质完整性相关的基因表达存在差异。这些发现表明,尽管接受抑制性 ART,完整的 HIV 前病毒基因组仍以与血液和淋巴组织中报告的相似水平持续存在于大脑中,并增加中枢神经系统炎症/免疫激活,表明靶向 CNS 储存库以实现 HIV 治愈的重要性。
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022-1-25
J Infect Dis. 2021-2-3
Med Sci (Basel). 2025-3-3
Curr Opin HIV AIDS. 2025-5-1
Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 2025-2-4
Open Forum Infect Dis. 2024-9-20
J Infect Dis. 2023-3-17
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022-11-29
Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 2022-12
J Leukoc Biol. 2022-11
Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 2022-2