Search

Background: HIV drug resistance (HIV-DR) may jeopardize the benefit of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in treatment and prevention. This study utilized viral phylogenetics to resolve the influence of transmission networks on sustaining the spread of HIV-DR in Quebec spanning 2002 to 2022. Methods: Time trends in acquired (ADR) and transmitted drug resistance (TDR) were delineated in treatment-experienced (n = 3500) and ART-naïve persons (n = 6011) with subtype B infections. Similarly, non-B-subtype HIV-DR networks were assessed pre- (n = 1577) and post-ART experience (n = 488). Risks of acquisition of resistance-associated mutations (RAMs) were related to clustering using 1, 2–5, vs. 6+ members per cluster as categorical variables. Results: Despite steady declines in treatment failure and ADR since 2007, rates of TDR among newly infected, ART-naive persons remained at 14% spanning the 2007–2011, 2012–2016, and 2017–2022 periods. Notably, half of new infections among men having sex with men and heterosexual groups were linked in large, clustered networks having a median of 35 (14–73 IQR) and 16 (9–26 IQR) members per cluster, respectively. Cluster membership and size were implicated in forward transmission of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor NNRTI RAMs (9%) and thymidine analogue mutations (TAMs) (5%). In contrast, transmission of M184V, K65R, and integrase inhibitors (1–2%) remained rare. Levels of TDR reflected viral replicative fitness. The median baseline viremia in ART-naïve groups having no RAMs, NNRTI RAMs, TAMs, and M184VI were 46.088, 38,447, 20,330, and 6811 copies/mL, respectively (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Phylogenetics emphasize the need to prioritize ART and pre-exposure prophylaxis strategies to avert the expansion of transmission cascades of HIV-DR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The impact of different therapeutic classes of drugs in antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens on the CD4/CD8 ratio is not well documented in people treated for HIV. The objective of this study was to analyze the long-term effect of exposure to integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) on CD4/CD8 ratio compared with nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) or protease inhibitor (PI) among ART-treated persons with HIV (PWH). Methods Data from the Quebec HIV Cohort collected from 31 August 2017 were used. Our analysis included all patients in the cohort who received a first or subsequent ART regimen composed of 2 nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) and a third active drug of a different class (NNRTI, PI, or INSTI) for at least 16 weeks. Marginal structural Cox models were constructed to estimate the effect of different therapeutic classes on the CD4/CD8 ratio outcome. Results Among the 3907 eligible patients, 972 (24.9%), 1996 (51.1%), and 939 (24.0%) were exposed to an ART regimen whose third active agent was an NNRTI, PI, or INSTI, respectively. The total follow-up time was 13 640.24 person-years. The weighted hazard ratio for the association between the third active class and CD4/CD8 ratio ≥1 was.56 (95% confidence interval [CI]:.48–.65) for patients exposed to NNRTI + 2 NRTIs and.41 (95% CI:.35–.47) for those exposed to PI + 2 NRTIs, compared with those exposed INSTI + 2 NRTIs. Conclusions For people treated for HIV, INSTI-based ART appears to be associated with a higher CD4/CD8 ratio than NNRTI and PI-based ART. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report that people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) diagnosed with coronary artery atherosclerotic plaques display higher levels of HIV DNA compared with those without atherosclerotic plaques. In a multivariable prediction model that included 27 traditional and HIV-related risk factors, measures of HIV DNA were among the most important predictors of atherosclerotic plaque formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection drives the expansion and differentiation of natural killer (NK) cells with adaptive-like features. We investigated whether age and time on antiretroviral therapy (ART) influenced adaptive NK cell frequency and functionality. Flow cytometry was used to evaluate the frequency of adaptive and conventional NK cells in 229 CMV+ individuals of whom 170 were people living with HIV (PLWH). The frequency of these NK cell populations producing CD107a, CCL4, IFN-γ or TNF-α was determined following a 6-h antibody dependent (AD) stimulation. Though ART duration and age were correlated, longer time on ART was associated with a reduced frequency of adaptive NK cells. In general, the frequency and functionality of NK cells following AD stimulation did not differ significantly between treated CMV+PLWH and CMV+HIV- persons, suggesting that HIV infection, per se, did not compromise AD NK cell function. AD activation of adaptive NK cells from CMV+PLWH induced lower frequencies of IFN-γ or TNF-α secreting cells in older persons, when compared with younger persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Microbial translocation from the gut to systemic circulation contributes to immune activation during human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and is usually assessed by measuring plasma levels of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Fungal colonization in the gut increases during HIV-infection and people living with HIV (PLWH) have increased plasma levels of fungal polysaccharide (1→3)-β-D-Glucan (βDG). We assessed the contribution of circulating DG to systemic immune activation in PLWH. Methods Cross-sectional and longitudinal assessments of plasma βDG levels were conducted along with markers of HIV disease progression, epithelial gut damage, bacterial translocation, proinflammatory cytokines, and βDG-specific receptor expression on monocytes and natural killer (NK) cells. Results Plasma βDG levels were elevated during early and chronic HIV infection and persisted despite long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART). βDG increased over 24 months without ART but remained unchanged after 24 months of treatment. βDG correlated negatively with CD4 T-cell count and positively with time to ART initiation, viral load, intestinal fatty acid–binding protein, LPS, and soluble LPS receptor soluble CD14 (sCD14). Elevated βDG correlated positively with indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase-1 enzyme activity, regulatory T-cell frequency, activated CD38+Human Leukocyte Antigen - DR isotype (HLA-DR)+ CD4 and CD8 T cells and negatively with Dectin-1 and NKp30 expression on monocytes and NK cells, respectively. Conclusions PLWH have elevated plasma βDG in correlation with markers of disease progression, gut damage, bacterial translocation, and inflammation. Early ART initiation prevents further βDG increase. This fungal antigen contributes to immune activation and represents a potential therapeutic target to prevent non–acquired immunodeficiency syndrome events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With potent antiretroviral drugs, HIV infection is becoming a chronic disease. Emergence of comorbidities, particularly cardiovascular disease (CVD) has become a leading concern for patients living with the infection. We hypothesized that the chronic and persistent inflammation and immune activation associated with HIV disease leads to accelerated aging, characterized by CVD. This will translate into higher incidence rates of CVD in HIV infected participants, when compared to HIV negative participants, after adjustment for traditional CVD risk factors. When characterized further using cardiovascular imaging, biomarkers, immunological and genetic profiles, CVD associated with HIV will show different characteristics compared to CVD in HIV-negative individuals.Methods/design: The Canadian HIV and Aging cohort is a prospective, controlled cohort study funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. It will recruit patients living with HIV who are aged 40 years or older or have lived with HIV for 15 years or more. A control population, frequency matched for age, sex, and smoking status, will be recruited from the general population. Patients will attend study visits at baseline, year 1, 2, 5 and 8. At each study visit, data on complete medical and pharmaceutical history will be captured, along with anthropometric measures, a complete physical examination, routine blood tests and electrocardiogram. Consenting participants will also contribute blood samples to a research biobank. The primary outcome is incidence of a composite of: myocardial infarction, coronary revascularization, stroke, hospitalization for angina or congestive heart failure, revascularization or amputation for peripheral artery disease, or cardiovascular death. Preplanned secondary outcomes are all-cause mortality, incidence of the metabolic syndrome, incidence of type 2 diabetes, incidence of renal failure, incidence of abnormal bone mineral density and body fat distribution. Patients participating to the cohort will be eligible to be enrolled in four pre-planned sub-studies of cardiovascular imaging, glucose metabolism, immunological and genetic risk profile.Discussion: The Canadian HIV and Aging Cohort will provide insights on pathophysiological pathways leading to premature CVD for patients living with HIV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: CD8 T-cell counts remain elevated in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection even after long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART), which is associated with an increased risk of non-AIDS-related events. We assessed the impact of ART initiation in early versus chronic HIV infection on trajectories of CD8 cell counts over time. Methods: Of 280 individuals enrolled during primary HIV infection (PHI), 251 were followed up for 24 months; 84 started ART before 6 months of infection (eART), 49 started between 6 and 24 months, and 118 remained untreated. Plasma HIV viral load (VL), CD4 and CD8 cell counts were assessed at each study visit. CD8 counts were also examined in 182 age-matched HIV-infected individuals who started ART during chronic infection and maintained undetectable plasma VL for ≥5 years. Results: At PHI baseline, higher CD8 cell counts were associated with more recent infection (P = .02), higher CD4 cell counts (P < .001), and higher VL (P < .001). The CD8 count in the eART group decreased from 797 to 588 cells/μL over 24 months (P < .001), to a level lower than that in untreated PHI (834 cells/μL; P = .004) or in long-term-treated patients with chronic HIV infection (743 cells/μL; P = .047). More prominent CD4 T-cell recovery was observed in the eART group than in the delayed ART group. Conclusions: ART initiated in early HIV infection is associated with improved resolution of CD8 T-cell elevation compared with long-term ART initiated in chronic infection. Early ART may help reduce the risk of non-AIDS-related events by alleviating this elevation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Tryptophan (Trp) catabolism into kynurenine (Kyn) contributes to immune dysfunction in chronic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. To better define the relationship between Trp catabolism, inflammation, gut mucosal dysfunction, and the role of early antiretroviral therapy (ART), we prospectively assessed patients early after they acquired HIV. Methods. Forty patients in the early phase of infection were longitudinally followed for 12 months after receiving a diagnosis of HIV infection; 24 were untreated, and 16 were receiving ART. Kyn/Trp ratio, regulatory T-cells (Tregs) frequency, T-cell activation, dendritic cell counts, and plasma levels of gut mucosal dysfunction markers intestinal-type fatty acid-binding protein, soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2, and lipopolysaccharide were assessed. Results. Compared with healthy subjects, patients in the early phase of infection presented with elevated Kyn/Trp ratios, which further increased in untreated patients but normalized in ART recipients. Accordingly, in untreated subjects, the elevated Treg frequency observed at baseline continued to increase over time. The highest CD8+ T-cell activation was observed during the early phase of infection and decreased in untreated patients, whereas activation normalized in ART recipients. The Kyn/Trp ratio was positively associated with CD8+ T-cell activation and levels of inflammatory cytokines (interleukin 6, interferon γ-inducible protein 10, interleukin 18, and tumor necrosis factor α) and negatively associated with dendritic cell frequencies at baseline and in untreated patients. However, ART did not normalize plasma levels of gut mucosal dysfunction markers. Conclusions. Early initiation of ART normalized enhanced Trp catabolism and immune activation but did not improve plasma levels of gut mucosal dysfunction markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Persistent low-level viremia was associated with an increased risk of virologic failure, defined as a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) load of >1000 copies/mL, in people living with HIV.Background. The current goal of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is to maintain a suppressed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) viral load below limits of assay detection. When viral loads remain in low-level viremia (LLV), especially between 50 and 200 copies/mL, the best management and clinical consequences remain unknown. Our objective was to study the long-term impact of persistent LLV on the subsequent risk of virologic failure in a cohort of people living with HIV in Montreal, Canada.Methods. We compared the cumulative incidence of subsequent virologic failure (defined as an HIV RNA viral load of >1000 copies/mL) in patients receiving ART for at least 12 months by following 4 persistence categories (<50, 50–199, 200–499, and 500–999 copies/mL) for 6, 9, or 12 months, using Kaplan-Meier analysis. The association between subsequent virologic failure and persistence status were estimated using a Cox proportional hazards model.Results. The cumulative incidence of virologic failure 1 year after having maintained a LLV for 6 months was 22.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 14.9–33.6) for 50–199 copies/mL, 24.2% (95% CI, 14.5–38.6) for 200–499 copies/mL, and 58.9% (95% CI, 43.1–75.2) for 500–999 copies/mL, compared with 6.6% (95% CI, 5.3–8.2) for an undetectable HIV RNA viral load. Even after adjustment for potential confounders, a persistent LLV of 50–199 copies/mL for 6 months doubled the risk of virologic failure (hazard ratio, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.60–3.09), compared with undetectable viral loads for the same duration. Similar results have been found for persistent LLV of 9 or 12 months.Conclusions. In this cohort, all categories of persistent LLV between 50 and 999 copies/mL were associated with an increased risk of virologic failure. The results shed new light for the management of patients with LLV, especially with regard to LLV of 50–199 copies/mL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background APV102002 was an open-label study comparing a dual-boosted HIV-1 protease inhibitor (PI) [fosamprenavir/lopinavir/ritonavir (FPV/LPV/RTV; 1400 mg/533 mg/133 mg twice daily)] and a high dose of FPV/RTV 1400 mg/100 mg twice daily (HD-FPV/RTV) versus the standard FPV/RTV 700 mg/100 mg twice-daily (STD-FPV/RTV) regimen for 24 weeks. Methods Adult patients with prior failure to two or more PI-based regimens and on a failing PI regimen were randomized to STD-FPV/RTV (n = 24), HD-FPV/RTV (n = 25) or FPV/LPV/RTV (n = 25). The primary aim was to test week 24 superiority of HD-FPV/RTV and FPV/LPV/RTV over STD-FPV/RTV as measured by plasma HIV-1 RNA average area under the curve minus baseline (AAUCMB). Results There was no difference in the week 24 AAUCMB between the regimens. The proportion of patients with Cτ) was 49% higher in the HD-FPV/RTV arm than in the STD-FPV/RTV arm and similar in the FPV/LPV/RTV and STD-FPV/RTV arms. The plasma lopinavir Cτ was similar to historical data with standard LPV/RTV 400 mg/100 mg twice daily. All regimens were relatively well tolerated, although diarrhoea was more frequent in the HD-FPV/RTV and FPV/LPV/RTV arms, and hypertriglyceridaemia and increased total cholesterol were more common in the FPV/LPV/RTV arm. Conclusions While the strategies of higher dose FPV/RTV and dual FPV/LPV/RTV were relevant at the time of study initiation, new therapies for antiretroviral-experienced patients make such strategies of limited interest. In addition, this study failed to demonstrate antiviral superiority of the HD-FPV/RTV or FPV/LPV/RTV regimen over the STD-FPV/RTV twice-daily regimen in highly treatment-experienced patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Background: In the primary analysis of SPRING-2 at week 48, dolutegravir showed non-inferior efficacy to and similar tolerability to raltegravir in adults infected with HIV-1 and naive for antiretroviral treatment. We present the 96 week results. Methods: SPRING-2 is an ongoing phase 3, randomised, double-blind, active-controlled, non-inferiority study in treatment-naive adults infected with HIV-1 that started in Oct 19, 2010. We present results for the safety cutoff date of Jan 30, 2013. Patients had to be aged 18 years or older and have HIV-1 RNA concentrations of 1000 copies per mL or more. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either dolutegravir (50 mg once daily) or raltegravir (400 mg twice daily), plus investigator-selected tenofovir–emtricitabine or abacavir–lamivudine. Prespecified 96 week secondary endpoints included proportion of patients with HIV-1 RNA less than 50 copies per mL, CD4 cell count changes from baseline, safety, tolerability, and genotypic or phenotypic resistance. We used an intention-to-treat exposed population (received at least one dose of study drug) for the analyses. Sponsor staff were masked to treatment assignment until primary analysis at week 48; investigators, site staff, and patients were masked until week 96. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01227824. Findings: Of 1035 patients screened, 827 were randomly assigned to study group, and 822 received at least one dose of the study drug (411 patients in each group). At week 96, 332 (81%) of 411 patients in the dolutegravir group and 314 (76%) of 411 patients in the raltegravir group had HIV-1 RNA less than 50 copies per mL (adjusted difference 4·5%, 95% CI −1·1% to 10·0%) confirming non-inferiority. Secondary analyses of efficacy such as per protocol (HIV RNA <50 copies per mL: 83% for dolutegravir and 80% for raltegravir) and treatment-related discontinuation equals failure (93% without failure for dolutegravir; 91% for raltegravir) supported non-inferiority. Virological non-response occurred less frequently in the dolutegravir group (22 [5%] patients for dolutegravir vs 43 [10%] patients for raltegravir). Median increases in CD4 cell count from baseline were similar between groups (276 cells per μL for dolutegravir and 264 cells per μL for raltegravir). Ten patients (2%) in each group discontinued because of adverse events, with few such events between weeks 48 and 96 (zero in the dolutegravir group and one in the raltegravir group). No study-related serious adverse events occurred between week 48 and week 96. At virological failure, no additional resistance to integrase inhibitors or nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors was detected since week 48 or in any patient receiving dolutegravir. Interpretation: At week 96, once-daily dolutegravir was non-inferior to twice-daily raltegravir in treatment-naive, patients with HIV-1. Once-daily dosing without requirement for a pharmacokinetic booster makes dolutegravir-based therapy an attractive treatment option for HIV-1-infected treatment-naive patients. Funding: ViiV Healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]