Journal Article

HIV transcription persists in the brain of virally suppressed people with HIV

Byrnes, Sarah J., Tan, Abigail, Estes, Jacob D., Lewin, Sharon R., Brew, Bruce J., Telwatte, Sushama, Tumpach, Carolin, Churchill, Melissa J., Angelovich, Thomas A., Gorry, Paul R., Shepherd, Rory A., Zhou, Jingling, Chalmers, Emily, Saraya, Nadia, Roche, Michael, Jamal Eddine, Janna, Marinis, Stephanie

2024

Overview

HIV persistence in the brain is a barrier to cure, and potentially contributes to HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. Whether HIV transcription persists in the brain despite viral suppression with antiretroviral therapy (ART) and is subject to the same blocks to transcription seen in other tissues and blood, is unclear. Here, we quantified the level of HIV transcripts in frontal cortex tissue from virally suppressed or non-virally suppressed people with HIV (PWH). HIV transcriptional profiling of frontal cortex brain tissue (and PBMCs where available) from virally suppressed (n = 11) and non-virally suppressed PWH (n = 13) was performed using digital polymerase chain reaction assays (dPCR). CD68+ myeloid cells or CD3+ T cells expressing HIV p24 protein present in frontal cortex tissue was detected using multiplex immunofluorescence imaging. Frontal cortex brain tissue from PWH had HIV TAR (n = 23/24) and Long-LTR (n = 20/24) transcripts. Completion of HIV transcription was evident in brain tissue from 12/13 non-virally suppressed PWH and from 5/11 virally suppressed PWH, with HIV p24+CD68+ cells detected in these individuals. While a block to proximal elongation was present in frontal cortex tissue from both PWH groups, this block was more extensive in virally suppressed PWH. These findings suggest that the brain is a transcriptionally active HIV reservoir in a subset of virally suppressed PWH.

• Publisher: Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Adult / Antiretroviral agents / Antiretroviral therapy / Antiviral agents / Autopsies / Biology and Life Sciences / Brain / Brain - metabolism / Brain - virology / Brain research / CD3 antigen / Cognition / Comparative analysis / Cortex (frontal) / Dosage and administration / Female / Frontal Lobe - metabolism / Frontal Lobe - virology / Genomes / HIV / HIV infection / HIV Infections - metabolism / HIV Infections - virology / HIV-1 / Human immunodeficiency virus / Humans / Immunofluorescence / Infections / Lymphocytes / Lymphocytes T / Male / Medicine and Health Sciences / Mental illness / Middle Aged / Myeloid cells / Neuroimaging / p24 Protein / Plasma / Polymerase chain reaction / Prevention / Risk factors / Tissues / Transcription / Transcription, Genetic