Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROVIROLOGY
Volume 11, Issue 2, Pages 180-189Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS INC
DOI: 10.1080/13550280590922829
Keywords
antiretroviral; HIV; reservoir; SIV
Categories
Funding
- NIMH NIH HHS [MH069116, MH07036] Funding Source: Medline
- NINDS NIH HHS [NS44815, NS047984] Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study used a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)- macaque model to determine whether virus persists in the central nervous system (CNS) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)- infected individuals in which plasma viral load has been suppressed by highly active antiretroviral therapy. SIV-infected macaques were treated with two reverse transcriptase inhibitors: PMPA (9-R( 2-phosphonomethoxypropyl) adenine), which does not cross the blood-brain barrier, and FTC ( beta-2', 3'-dideoxy-3'-thia-5-fluorocytidine), which does. Viral DNA and RNA were quantitated in the brain after 6 months of suppression of virus replication in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Viral DNA was detected in brain from all macaques, including those in which peripheral viral replication had been suppressed either by antiretroviral therapy or host immune responses. Significant neurological lesions were observed only in one untreated macaque that had active virus replication in the CNS. Expression of the inflammatory markers, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) II and CD68 was significantly lower in macaques treated with PMPA/FTC. Thus, although antiretroviral treatment may suppress virus replication in the periphery and the brain and reduce CNS inflammation, viral DNA persists in the brain despite treatment. This suggests that the brain may serve as a long-term viral reservoir in HIV-infected individuals treated with antiretroviral drugs that suppress virus replication.
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