Blood and Lymph Node Dissemination of Clonal Genome-Intact Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 DNA Sequences During Suppressive Antiretroviral Therapy
Hsiao-Hsuan Kuo, Riddhima Banga, Guinevere Q. Lee, Ce Gao, Matthias Cavassini, Jean-Marc Corpataux, Jane E. Blackmer, Schulze zur Wiesch, Xu G. Yu, Giuseppe Pantaleo, Matthieu Perreau, Mathias Lichterfeld
Abstract
The majority of cells with latent human immunodeficiency virus 1 infection are located in lymphoid tissues that are difficult to access. In the current study, we used single-genome near-full-length proviral sequencing to evaluate intact and defective proviruses in blood and lymph node CD4 T cells enriched for specific functional polarizations. We observed minor variations between the frequencies of proviral sequences within individual CD4 T-cell subsets and across tissue compartments. However, we noted multiple clonal clusters of identical intact or defective proviral sequences from distinct compartments and CD4 T-cell subpopulations, suggesting frequent interchanges between viral reservoir cells in blood and tissues.