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Rapid seeding of the viral reservoir prior to SIV viraemia in rhesus monkeys

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Abstract

The viral reservoir represents a critical challenge for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) eradication strategies1,2,3,4,5. However, it remains unclear when and where the viral reservoir is seeded during acute infection and the extent to which it is susceptible to early antiretroviral therapy (ART). Here we show that the viral reservoir is seeded rapidly after mucosal simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection of rhesus monkeys and before systemic viraemia. We initiated suppressive ART in groups of monkeys on days 3, 7, 10 and 14 after intrarectal SIVMAC251 infection. Treatment with ART on day 3 blocked the emergence of viral RNA and proviral DNA in peripheral blood and also substantially reduced levels of proviral DNA in lymph nodes and gastrointestinal mucosa as compared with treatment at later time points. In addition, treatment on day 3 abrogated the induction of SIV-specific humoral and cellular immune responses. Nevertheless, after discontinuation of ART following 24 weeks of fully suppressive therapy, virus rebounded in all animals, although the monkeys that were treated on day 3 exhibited a delayed viral rebound as compared with those treated on days 7, 10 and 14. The time to viral rebound correlated with total viraemia during acute infection and with proviral DNA at the time of ART discontinuation. These data demonstrate that the viral reservoir is seeded rapidly after intrarectal SIV infection of rhesus monkeys, during the ‘eclipse’ phase, and before detectable viraemia. This strikingly early seeding of the refractory viral reservoir raises important new challenges for HIV-1 eradication strategies.

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Figure 1: Viral decay kinetics after treatment with ART.
Figure 2: SIV-specific humoral and cellular immune responses during ART.
Figure 3: Proviral DNA during ART.
Figure 4: Viral rebound kinetics after ART discontinuation.
Figure 5: Viral dynamics and correlations.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. Pensiero, M. Marovich, C. Dieffenbach, W. Wagner, C. Gittens, J. Yalley-Ogunro, M. Nowak, R. Siliciano, D. Persaud, S. Deeks, N. Chomont, J. Ananworanich, L. Picker, F. Stephens, R. Hamel, K. Kelly and L. Dunne for advice, assistance and reagents. The SIVMAC239 peptides were obtained from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) AIDS Research and Reference Reagent Program. We acknowledge support from the US Army Medical Research and Material Command and the US Military HIV Research Program through its cooperative agreement with the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (W81XWH-07-2-0067, W81XWH-11-2-0174); the NIH (AI060354, AI078526, AI084794, AI095985, AI096040, AI100645); and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard. The views expressed in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not represent the official views of the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense.

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Contributions

J.B.W., R.G., M.L.R., J.H.K., N.L.M. and D.H.B. designed the studies and interpreted the data. J.B.W. and S.S. led the virological assays. P.P.-M., J.L., M.S., L.P., C.C., J.S., S.B., J.Y.S., A.L.B., L.E.P., E.N.B. and K.M.S. led the study operations and the immunological assays. A.L.H. and D.I.S.R. led the mathematical modelling and statistical analysis. M.G.L. led the clinical care of the rhesus monkeys. B.L., J.Ha., J.Hi. and R.G. developed the antiretroviral drug cocktail. J.B.W. and D.H.B. wrote the paper with all co-authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dan H. Barouch.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Extended data figures and tables

Extended Data Figure 1 Viral dynamics modelling of initial viral growth and decay after ART initiation.

Red lines indicate fitted values from the model in monkeys that initiated ART on days 3, 7, 10 and 14 of infection and were used for AUC VL calculations. Red asterisks indicate the time of treatment initiation. Values below the assay detection limit of 50 copies ml−1 are not shown.

Extended Data Figure 2 Ultrasensitive plasma viral loads in monkeys during ART.

Log plasma viral RNA (copies ml−1) at week 20 in rhesus monkeys infected with SIVMAC251 and after initiation of ART on days 3, 7, 10 and 14 of infection. Assay sensitivity is 6 RNA copies ml−1.

Extended Data Figure 3 Intracellular cytokine staining raw data of Gag-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T cells.

Representative data for the magnitude of Gag-specific IFN-γ+ CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell responses at week 20 in monkeys that initiated ART on days 3, 7, 10 and 14 of infection or with no ART.

Extended Data Figure 4 Intracellular cytokine staining of Gag-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T cells.

Summary data for the magnitude of Gag-specific IFN-γ+ CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell responses and Ki67 expression at week 4 and week 20 in monkeys that initiated ART on days 3, 7, 10 and 14 of infection or with no ART (N = 4 animals per group). Error bars show s.e.m.

Extended Data Figure 5 Proviral DNA in CD4+ T-cell subpopulations during ART.

Log proviral DNA (copies per 106 CD4+ T cells) in sorted naive (N), transitional effector memory (TM) and central memory (CM) CD4+ T-cell subpopulations from PBMCs and from genital, inguinal, iliac, para-aortic, axillary and/or mesenteric lymph nodes obtained from two animals necropsied on day 3 and two animals necropsied on day 7 after mucosal SIVMAC251 infection. Error bars show s.e.m.

Extended Data Figure 6 Viral dynamics modelling of viral rebound after ART discontinuation.

Red lines indicate fitted values from the model in monkeys that initiated ART on days 3, 7, 10 and 14 after infection. Values below the assay detection limit of 50 copies ml−1 are not shown.

Extended Data Figure 7 Viral kinetics and setpoint viral loads following ART discontinuation.

Log initial viral loads, exponential viral growth rate and log setpoint viral loads after viral rebound derived from the model fits in groups of monkeys that initiated ART on days 3, 7, 10 and 14 of infection (N = 4 animals per group). Error bars show standard deviation.

Extended Data Figure 8 Early ART impacts AUC VL and time to viral rebound.

Log AUC VL and interpolated time of viral rebound derived from the model fits are shown in monkeys that initiated ART on days 3, 7, 10 and 14 of infection (N = 4 animals per group). Error bars show standard deviation.

Extended Data Table 1 Best-fit parameters for viral dynamics pre-ART and during ART
Extended Data Table 2 Best-fit parameters for viral dynamics after ART discontinuation

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Whitney, J., Hill, A., Sanisetty, S. et al. Rapid seeding of the viral reservoir prior to SIV viraemia in rhesus monkeys. Nature 512, 74–77 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13594

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