Peripheral Vγ9Vδ2 T Cells Are a Novel Reservoir of Latent HIV Infection

Eradication of HIV infection will require the identification of all cellular reservoirs that harbor latent infection. Despite low or lack of CD4 receptor expression on V delta 2 T cells, infection of these cells has previously been reported. We found that upregulation of the CD4 receptor may render primary V delta 2 cells target for HIV infection in vitro and we propose that HIV-induced immune activation may allow infection of gamma delta T cells in vivo. We assessed the presence of latent HIV infection by measurements of DNA and outgrowth assays within V delta 2 cells in 18 aviremic patients on long-standing antiretroviral therapy. In 14 patients we recovered latent but replication-competent HIV from highly purified V delta 2 cells demonstrating that peripheral V delta 2 T cells are a previously unrecognized reservoir in which latent HIV infection is unexpectedly frequent.