AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses

Early antiretroviral therapy initiation is WHO recommendation for fasten viral suppression and for prevention of further viral transmission sexually. There is no evidence showing the level of adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) after initiation of the universal test and treat (UTT) strategy in Ethiopia, including study area. This study was aimed to determine the level of ART adherence and associated factors among HIV/AIDS patients in context of Universal test and treat strategy. A Health facility-based study was conducted on 352 people living with HIV who started their ART follow-up after application of universal test and treat strategy in Ethiopia from 15 April to 5 June 2020...

Background The concept of vulnerability in bioethics was first referenced in 1979, when the Belmont Report highlighted the need for special consideration of certain populations in the application of its general principles of respect for persons, beneficence, and justice in research with human participants. Since then, a body of literature has emerged regarding the content, status, scope, as well as ethical and practical implications of vulnerability in biomedical research. Discussion The social history of HIV treatment development has at various points reflected and actively influenced bioethics' debate on vulnerability...

HIV-1 provirus is flanked by one LTR at each terminal. The 5' LTR plays important roles in HIV-1 life cycle, especially, it determines HIV-1 transcription. However, there are 810 5' LTR entries exist in the HIV-1 sequence database, accounting for only 0.085% (810/949484). Here, we collected plasma samples from HIV-1-infected patients in Shenzhen province and got 219 5' LTR sequences. In addition, we found recombination in the LTR region. The recombinant (LS13145, LS11614, LS14862, LS14863) possess an insertion of CRF01_AE segment at HXB2 482-630bp (149bp) in the skeleton of 5' LTR of subtype C...

In this study, we characterized HIV-1 RNA and HIV-1 DNA genotyping drug resistance detection in patients with low-level viremia in Liangshan, China. Whole blood samples were collected from HIV/AIDS patients who had received anti-retroviral therapy for more than six months and whose HIV-1 RNA loads were 50-1000 copies/mL for two consecutive times at least one month apart. The patients were enrolled from a county in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province between May 2021 and May 2022. Plasma and blood cells were separated...

Diversified Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) approach is needed in methods that were acceptable to communities and maintain good viral suppression outcomes in order to reach the UNAIDS targets to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030. Ethiopia is fully implementing differentiated service delivery approaches, appointment spacing, and standard care. This study aimed to determine the time to HIV virological failure and its predictors among patients with a differentiated service delivery model. An institution-based retrospective cohort study was conducted with data collection dates ranging from May 1-30, 2021...

Mpox is caused by a zoonotic Orthopoxvirus capable of infecting several animal species, including humans. The analysis of cases in the current outbreak showed that, differently from what happens in the classical disease, MPox has mostly affected men who have sex with men and bisexuals, including a high proportion of people living with HIV. The role of the immune system in fighting MPox has been discussed in literature and experts believe that immunity conferred by natural infection may be lifelong and advocate against the possibility of reinfection by Monkeypox virus...

Integrase strand-transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) are associated with weight gain in women living with HIV (WLH). Relationships between drug exposure, baseline obesity, and INSTI-associated weight gain remain unclear. Data from 2006-2016 were analyzed from virally-suppressed WLH enrolled in the Women's Interagency HIV Study who switched/added an INSTI to antiretroviral therapy: (raltegravir [RAL], dolutegravir [DTG], or elvitegravir [EVG]). Percent body weight change was calculated from weights obtained a median 6 months pre- and 14 months post-INSTI initiation...

We evaluated low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) adherence among people with HIV (PWH) treated at University of Florida (UF). From the UF Health Integrated Data Repository, we identified PWH who underwent at least one LDCT procedure (01/01/2012-10/31/2021). Lung cancer screening adherence was defined as having a second LDCT within recommended observation window, based on the Lung Imaging Reporting and Data System (Lung-RADS®). We identified 73 PWH with a history of at least one LDCT. PWH were mostly male (66%), non-Hispanic Black (53%), and living in urban (86%),high poverty(45%) areas...

Since the first HIV-cured person was reported in 2009, a strong interest in developing highly sensitive HIV and SIV reservoir assays has emerged. In particular, the question arose about the comparative value of state-of-the-art assays to measure and characterize the HIV reservoir, and how these assays can be applied to accurately detect changes in the reservoir during efforts to develop a cure for HIV infection. Secondly, it is important to consider the impact on the outcome of clinical trials if these relatively new HIV reservoir assays are incorporated into clinical trial endpoints and/or used for clinical decision-making...

Decades of effort have yielded highly effective antiviral agents to treat HIV, but viral strains have evolved resistance to each inhibitor type, focusing attention on the importance of developing new inhibitor classes. A particularly promising new target is the HIV capsid, the function of which can be disrupted by highly potent inhibitors that persist long term in treated subjects. Studies with such inhibitors have contributed to an evolving picture of the role of capsid itself-the inhibitors, like certain capsid protein (CA) amino acid substitutions, can disrupt intracellular trafficking to alter the selection of target sites for HIV DNA integration in cellular chromosomes...

People with HIV (PWH) on combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) are living longer lives due to modern cART advances and increased routine medical care. The full landscape of aging with HIV is unclear; given that HIV emerged relatively recently in human history and initially had a high mortality rate, there has not been a substantially aged population to evaluate. In the present study, we set out to perform high throughput plasma analyte profiling by multiplex analysis, focusing on various T helper (Th)-related cytokines, chemokines, and pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines...

Recent studies suggest that the introduction of antiretroviral agents such as integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTI) may lead to more weight gain in patients living with HIV (PLHIV). In this retrospective observational study, we report the weight changes observed in virologically suppressed HIV patients after 12 months of switching to bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (BIC/F/TAF). Patients on prior regimens based on TDF/FTC or ABC/3TC plus NNRTI, INSTI, or PI were included. In the 399 patients analyzed, a significant weight increase was found; as well as an increase in body mass index, total cholesterol, LDL-C, glucose, creatinine, and CD4+ cells after 12 months of switching (all p≤0...

Early United Kingdom surveillance data revealed that people living with HIV (PLWH) were overrepresented among within those with mpox (monkeypox). However, it remains unknown whether mpox infection is more severe in people living with well-controlled HIV. All laboratory confirmed mpox cases presenting between May-December 2022 in one London hospital service were identified via pathology reporting systems. We extracted demographic and clinical data to allow comparison of clinical presentation and severity of mpox among people with and without HIV...

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) is the most fatal non-AIDS defining cancer in PWH on ART. Treatment of malignancies in PWH requires concomitant cancer therapy and ART, which can lead to potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs) and overlapping toxicities. Here, we hypothesize that replacement of ART with HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) during cancer chemotherapy (chemo) may maintain HIV suppression and tumor inhibition while minimizing DDIs and overlapping toxicities. We compared HIV suppression, tumor inhibition, and toxicity between conventional treatment (ART plus chemo) and a new modality (bNAbs plus chemo) in humanized mice...

HIV is an immunodeficiency disease with emergence of inadequate corresponding reconstruction therapies. Pyroptosis of CD4+T cell is mainly caused by immune activation and inflammation that cannot be reduced by successful antiretroviral therapy (ART) alone. Co-infections because of CD4+T cell reconstitution failure can occur. Anti-inflammatory treatment determines the success of immune reconstitution. In our experiment, only a few cytokines could recover to normal level following with a 2-year antiretroviral treatment in early ART initiation, which is consistent with current findings about adjuvant HIV anti-inflammatory therapy...

At present, whether SARS-CoV-2 vaccines can elicit robust humoral and cellular immune responses in people living with HIV (PLWH) is still controversial. We assessed humoral and cellular immune response after the administration of the BNT162b2-mRNA-vaccine in 7 ART-treated people living with HIV (PLWH) patients and in 9 HIV-negative health care workers (PWOH) over a 3-month span of time from the first vaccine dose. The neutralizing antibody activity against both the European and the Delta variants declined after three months equally in both PLWH and PWOH...

Despite virological suppression, some HIV-infected patients can not restore their CD4+ T lymphocytes after anti-retroviral therapy (ART). These individuals are known as immune non-responders (INRs). INRs are at high risk of developing AIDS and non-AIDS-related events and have a shorter life expectancy. Hence, it is vital to identify INR early and prevent its complications, but there are still no specific diagnostic indicators or models. Ferroptosis is a lately reported kind of programmed cell death, which plays an indispensable part in diverse diseases...

Compared to young heterosexual men, young sexual and gender minorities (YSGM) have elevated systemic inflammation and unique intestinal microbial profiles, influenced by HIV infection and substance use. However, links between cannabis use and microbial dysbiosis in this population have not been well described. In this pilot study, we aimed to characterize the complex interrelationships between cannabis use and microbial community structure in YSGM in relationship to HIV status. Cannabis use was assessed by self-administered Cannabis Use Disorder Identification Test (CUDIT) questionnaires and rectal microbial community alpha-diversity metrics were assessed via 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) sequencing in a subset of YSGM ( n  = 42) in the RADAR cohort (aged 16-29) in Chicago...

The biology of HIV-1 acquisition via unprotected receptive anal intercourse is understudied. Considering that sex hormones are implicated in intestinal physiology, pathology, and HIV acquisition and pathogenesis, we explored links between sex hormones, ex vivo HIV-1BaL infection of colonic mucosa and candidate biomarkers of susceptibility to HIV (CD4+ T cell frequencies, immune mediators) in cisgender women and men. No consistent significant associations between sex hormones and ex vivo tissue infection with HIV-1BaL were detected...

In recent years, men who have sex with men (MSM) have been identified as the primary source of HIV-1 transmission in Hebei Province, China. Co-circulation of multiple subtypes in HIV-1 positive MSM populations may contribute to the emergence of the second-generation of recombinant HIV-1 strains, indicating the occurrence of dual infections or super-infections in MSM populations. Thus, the discovery of new recombinant strains is important to indicate the appearance of multiple infected individuals and the prevalence caused by changes in the parent strains...