Preferential and persistent impact of acute HIV-1 infection on CD4 <sup>+</sup> iNKT cells in colonic mucosa
Dominic Paquin‐Proulx, Kerri G. Lal, Yuwadee Phuang‐Ngern, Matthew Creegan, Andrey Tokarev, Suchada Suhkumvittaya, Aljawharah Alrubayyi, Eugène Kroon, Suteeraporn Pinyakorn, Bonnie M. Slike, Diane L. Bolton, Shelly J. Krebs, Leigh Anne Eller, Chayada Sajjaweerawan, Amélie Pagliuzza, Nicolas Chomont, Rungsun Rerknimitr, Nitiya Chomchey, Nittaya Phanuphak, Mark de Souza, Nelson L. Michael, Merlin L. Robb, Jintanat Ananworanich, Johan K. Sandberg, Michael A. Eller, Alexandra Schuetz, RV217, RV254/SEARCH010, RV304/SEARCH013, Study Groups
Abstract
Significance Evidence suggests that HIV-1 disease progression is determined in the early stages of infection. Here, preinfection invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cell levels were predictive of the peak viral load during acute HIV-1 infection (AHI). Furthermore, iNKT cells were preferentially lost in AHI. This was particularly striking in the colonic mucosa, where iNKT cells were depleted more profoundly than conventional CD4 + T cells. The initiation of antiretroviral therapy during AHI-prevented iNKT cell dysregulation in peripheral blood but not in the colonic mucosa. Overall, our results support a model in which iNKT cells are early and preferential targets for HIV-1 infection during AHI.