Frailty phenotype is associated with antiretroviral exposure among older persons living with HIV
Purpose of review This multicentre, cross-sectional study was carried out in the South of France to assess the association between frailty phenotype and antiretroviral therapy (ART) in older persons living with HIV (PLWHIV). Sociodemographic and HIV data, geriatric assessment, comorbidities, behavioral and age-related variables and the five frailty markers of Fried were recorded. Exposure to any pharmacological class of ART and all regimens were retrieved from medical records. Recent findings The 509 PLWHIV analysed (72.7% male) received a mean of 6.01 ART regimens and 12.5 years exposure to ART. The prevalenc...
Source: Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS - August 14, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: SPECIAL COMMENTARIES Source Type: research

Exosomes in HIV infection
Purpose of review The exosomes play a critical role in HIV infection, which constitute a pathway to release intracellular material and exchange material and information between cells. Exosomes have become a hotspot in the field of AIDS research. This review introduces the formation process of HIV particles and exosomes, and summarizes the role of exosomes in the progression of HIV disease from multiple aspects. Recent findings Many components of the exosomes involved in HIV transfer and replication affect the occurrence, development, and outcome of AIDS, and are closely related to HIV infection. Exosomes can hav...
Source: Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS - August 14, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: SPECIAL COMMENTARIES Source Type: research

Considerations for successful therapeutic immunization in HIV cure
Purpose of review In this special issue on human immunodeficiency (HIV) cure, we review the role of therapeutic immunization in strategies aimed to eliminate HIV-infected cells and/or mediate sustained control of viral replication in the absence of antiretroviral treatment. Recent findings Recent data emerging from studies in simian immunodeficiency virus macaque models using broadly neutralizing antibodies, given alone or in combination with other immunomodulatory agents, as well as data from human clinical studies with novel therapeutic vaccines are showing encouraging results indicating that achieving viral r...
Source: Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS - August 14, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: HIV CURE: Edited by Ole S. Søgaard and Katharine J. Bar Source Type: research

Viral, inflammatory, and reservoir characteristics of posttreatment controllers
Purpose of review To provide an overview of studies to date that have identified posttreatment controllers (PTCs) and to explore current evidence around clinical characteristics, immune effector function, and inflammatory and viral reservoir characteristics that may underlie the control mechanism. Recent findings PTCs are broadly defined as individuals capable of maintaining control of HIV replication after cessation of antiretroviral therapy (ART). While starting ART early after HIV infection is associated with PTC, genetic disposition or CD8+ T-cell function do not appear to explain this phenomenon, but these ...
Source: Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS - August 14, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: HIV CURE: Edited by Ole S. Søgaard and Katharine J. Bar Source Type: research

Immunological effector mechanisms in HIV-1 elite controllers
Purpose of review HIV-1 elite controllers encompass small populations of people infected with HIV-1 who can spontaneously control plasma viral loads below the limit of detection, in the absence of antiretroviral treatment. Antiviral immune responses are likely to contribute to such an impressive HIV-1 disease outcome. In this review, we discuss recent novel findings regarding antiviral innate and adaptive immune responses in elite controllers. Recent findings Elite controllers maintain a pool of infected cells in which intact HIV-1 proviruses are more frequently integrated into noncoding regions of the host geno...
Source: Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS - August 14, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: HIV CURE: Edited by Ole S. Søgaard and Katharine J. Bar Source Type: research

Editorial: Immune-mediated control of HIV
No abstract available (Source: Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS)
Source: Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS - August 14, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: HIV CURE: Edited by Ole S. Søgaard and Katharine J. Bar Source Type: research

Editorial introductions
No abstract available (Source: Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS)
Source: Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS - August 14, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: EDITORIAL INTRODUCTIONS Source Type: research

Visualization of HIV-1 reservoir: an imaging perspective
Purpose of review The persistence of HIV-1-infected cells, despite the introduction of the combinatorial antiretroviral therapy, is a major obstacle to HIV-1 eradication. Understanding the nature of HIV reservoir will lead to novel therapeutic approaches for the functional cure or eradication of the virus. In this review, we will update the recent development in imaging applications toward HIV-1/simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) viral reservoirs research and highlight some of their limitations. Recent findings CD4 T cells are the primary target of HIV-1/SIV and the predominant site for productive and latent re...
Source: Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS - June 11, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: HIV RESERVOIR: Edited by Matthieu Perreau and Konstantinos Petrovas Source Type: research

Assessing proviral competence: current approaches to evaluate HIV-1 persistence
Purpose of review Despite decades of suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV-1 reservoirs persist and fuel viral rebound if therapy is interrupted. The persistence of viral reservoirs in infected individuals is the main obstacle to achieving HIV-1 eradication or a long-term remission. Accurate assessment of the viral reservoir size is necessary for monitoring the effectiveness of the curative interventions. Here, we review the recent progress in the development of assays to measure HIV-1 persistence, highlighting their key advantages and limitations. Recent findings To estimate the viral reservoir size, a ...
Source: Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS - June 11, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: HIV RESERVOIR: Edited by Matthieu Perreau and Konstantinos Petrovas Source Type: research

“Go”, “No Go,” or “Where to Go”; does microbiota dictate T cell exhaustion, programming, and HIV persistence?
Purpose of review People living with HIV who fail to fully reconstitute CD4+T cells after combination antiretroviral therapy therapy (i.e. immune nonresponders or INRs) have higher frequencies of exhausted T cells are enriched in a small pool of memory T cells where HIV persists and have an abundance of plasma metabolites of bacterial and host origins. Here, we review the current understanding of critical features of T cell exhaustion associated with HIV persistence; we propose to develop novel strategies to reinvigorate the effector function of exhausted T cells with the aim of purging the HIV reservoir. Recent fin...
Source: Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS - June 11, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: HIV RESERVOIR: Edited by Matthieu Perreau and Konstantinos Petrovas Source Type: research

HIV persistence in lymph nodes
Purpose of review HIV persists in distinct cellular and anatomical compartments in the body including blood, Central nervous system, and lymphoid tissues (spleen, lymph nodes [LNs], gut-associated lymphoid tissue) by diverse mechanisms despite antiretroviral therapy. Within LNs, human and animal studies have highlighted that a specific CD4 T cell subset - called T follicular helper cells locating in B cell follicles is enriched in cells containing replication-competent HIV as compared to extra-follicular CD4 T cells. Therefore, the objective of the present review is to focus on the potential mechanisms allowing HIV to ...
Source: Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS - June 11, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: HIV RESERVOIR: Edited by Matthieu Perreau and Konstantinos Petrovas Source Type: research

Eliminating HIV reservoirs for a cure: the issue is in the tissue
Purpose of review Advances in antiretroviral therapy have saved numerous lives, converting a diagnosis with human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) from a death sentence into the possibility for a (nearly) normal life in many instances. However, the obligation for lifelong adherence, increased risk of accumulated co-morbidities, and continued lack of uniform availability around the globe underscores the need for an HIV cure. Safe and scalable HIV cure strategies remain elusive, in large part due to the presence of viral reservoirs in which caches of infected cells remain hidden from immune elimination, primarily within ...
Source: Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS - June 11, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: HIV RESERVOIR: Edited by Matthieu Perreau and Konstantinos Petrovas Source Type: research

The active human immunodeficiency virus reservoir during antiretroviral therapy: emerging players in viral persistence
Purpose of review To discuss the role of CD4+ T cells with active Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), meaning infected cells with transcriptional and/or translational viral activity during antiretroviral therapy (ART), focusing on new technologies for its detection, potential cell markers for its characterization, and evidences on the contribution of the active HIV reservoir to long-term viral persistence. Recent findings HIV-infected cells expressing viral ribonucleic acid are systematically detected in subjects on long-term ART. In recent years, powerful new tools have provided significant insights into the na...
Source: Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS - June 11, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: HIV RESERVOIR: Edited by Matthieu Perreau and Konstantinos Petrovas Source Type: research

Editorial introductions
No abstract available (Source: Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS)
Source: Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS - June 11, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: EDITORIAL INTRODUCTIONS Source Type: research

What's new in bone disease and fractures in HIV?
Purpose of review People living with HIV (PWH) are at greater risk of low bone mineral density (BMD) and fractures compared to the general population. This narrative review summarises recent literature in the field, including the relative contribution of antiretroviral therapy and frailty to low BMD and fractures in PWH. Recent findings The body of evidence indicating less impact on BMD from the use of tenofovir alafenamide compared to tenofovir disoproxil fumarate continues to grow, although this has not yet translated into data supporting a reduction in fracture incidence. Frailty, common in PWH, is associated...
Source: Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS - May 1, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: HIV-ASSOCIATED CO-MORBIDITIES: Edited by Morris Schambelan and Todd T. Brown Source Type: research