Immunotherapy during the acute SHIV infection of macaques confers long-term suppression of viremia
Yoshiaki Nishimura, Olivia K. Donau, Joana Dias, Sara Ferrando‐Martínez, Eric Jesteadt, Reza Sadjadpour, Rajeev Gautam, Alicia Buckler‐White, Romas Geleziunas, Richard A. Koup, Michel C. Nussenzweig, Malcolm A. Martin
Abstract
We report that combination bNAb immunotherapy initiated on day 3 post-infection (PI) maintained durable CD8+ T cell-mediated suppression of SHIVAD8 viremia and preinoculation levels of CD4+ T cells in 9 of 13 treated monkeys during nearly 6 yr of observation, as assessed by successive CD8+ T cell-depletion experiments. In an extension of that study, two treatment interventions (bNAbs alone or cART plus bNAbs) beginning on week 2 PI were conducted and conferred controller status to 7 of 12 monkeys that was also dependent on control mediated by CD8+ cells. However, the median time to suppression of plasma viremia following intervention on week 2 was markedly delayed (85 wk) compared with combination bNAb immunotherapy initiated on day 3 (39 wk). In both cases, the principal correlate of virus control was the induction of CD8+ T cellular immunity.