Title

50 shades of reservoirs

Code

TUAA02

Session Type

Oral Abstract SessionTrack A – Basic Science

Venue

Casa Montejo 1

Date Time

Tuesday 23 July, 16:30 - 18:00

Co-Chairs:

Xu Yu, Massachusetts General Hospital, United States
Gonzalo Salgado, CIENI, Mexico

16:30 TUAA0201	Preferential infection of α4β7+ CD4+ T cells in early acute HIV-1 infection Lyle McKinnon, University of Manitoba, Canada	Abstract Slides

16:45 TUAA0203	Adipose tissue contributes to viral persistence in ART-treated SIV.sab infection in pigtailed macaques Paola Sette, University of Pittsburgh, United States	Abstract Slides

17:00 TUAA0204	Selective death induction of HIV-1 infected myeloid reservoirs Christina Gavegnano, Emory University School of Medicine, United States	Abstract Slides

17:15 TUAA0205LB	Contribution of naïve CD4+ T cells to the intact HIV reservoir Emmanuele Venanzi Rullo, University of Messina, Italy	Abstract Slides

17:30 TUAA0206	Clonal integration site expansion of infected cells is a main contributor of HIV persistence in more differentiated T cell subsets during suppressive ART Jori Symons, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital, Australia	Abstract

AUTHOR

Aurelio Orta-Reséndiz

SUMMARY

This session explored different aspects surrounding the study of the viral reservoirs through research abstracts about the contribution of gut α4β7+ CD4+ T-cells and adipose tissues to the persistence, the characteristics of integration sites in clonally expanded T-cells and the potential of two non-HIV drugs to kill infected macrophages.

HIGHLIGHTS

Lyle McKinnon presented work in a cohort of men with acute infection in which he demonstrated enrichment of total and integrated HIV DNA levels in CD4+ T-cells expressing high levels of the gut homing marker α4β7. Paola Sette found that CA-DNA can be found in adipose tissue in SIVsab-infected, ART-treated pigtailed macaques. Christina Gavegnano showed that rufinamide and bergenin accelerated HIV-1 replication in macrophages, and increased their death at least 4-fold but not uninfected macrophages. Emmanuele Venanzi investigated intact proviruses in two virologically suppressed subjects, showing that the naive subset contained the highest proportion. He also showed that the frequency of clonally expanded intact proviruses in CD4+ T cell subsets increases with their differentiation. Jori Symons showed that in ART-suppressed individuals integration sites of clonally-expanded cells were enriched for actively transcribed genes associated with cell proliferation and immune function, whereas in single integration sites are found in silenced genes.

CRITICAL ASSESSMENT

The diversity of the reservoirs makes more difficult for researchers to find a single approach to eliminate them. Efforts should be directed to better understand the contribution of macrophages and gut CD4+ T-cells to the reservoir for future targeting strategies of elimination, particularly during acute infection. On the other hand, the survival and role of clonally expanded cells that are enriched for proliferation will be fundamental for patients with chronic infection. The further evaluation of rufinamide and bergenin in clinical studies towards the elimination of HIV reservoirs systemically and within the central nervous system is promising.