Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROIMMUNE PHARMACOLOGY
Volume 14, Issue 1, Pages 110-119Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s11481-018-9809-2
Keywords
Antiretroviral therapy; Brain; HIV-1; HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders; Macrophage; Reservoir
Categories
Funding
- NIH [R01MH107333]
- NIH Grant through the NIMH
- NIH Grant through the NINDS [U24MH100931, U24MH100930, U24MH100929, U24MH100928, U24MH100925]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The question of whether the human brain is an anatomical site of persistent HIV-1 infection during suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) is critical, but remains unanswered. The presence of virus in the brains of HIV patients whose viral load is effectively suppressed would demonstrate not only the potential for CNS to act as an anatomical HIV reservoir, but also the urgent need to understand the factors contributing to persistent HIV behind the blood-brain barrier. Here, we investigated for the first time the presence of cells harboring HIV DNA and RNA in the brains from subjects with undetectable plasma viral load and sustained viral suppression, as identified by the National NeuroAIDS Tissue Consortium. Using new, highly sensitive in situ hybridization techniques, RNAscope and DNAscope, in combination with immunohistochemistry, we were able to detect HIV-1 in the brains of all virally suppressed cases and found that brain macrophages and microglia, but not astrocytes, were the cells harboring HIV DNA in the brain. This study demonstrated that HIV reservoirs persist in brain macrophages/microglia during suppressive ART, which cure/treatment strategies will need to focus on targeting.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available