Trevor A Crowell, Justin Ritz, Lu Zheng, Asma Naqvi, Joshua C Cyktor, Joseph Puleo, Brian Clagett, Javier R Lama, Cecilia Kanyama, Susan J Little, Susan E Cohn, Sharon A Riddler, Ann C Collier, Sonya L Heath, Pornphen Tantivitayakul, Beatriz Grinsztejn, Roberto C Arduino, James F Rooney, Gert U van Zyl, Robert W Coombs, Lawrence Fox, Jintanat Ananworanich, Joseph J Eron, Scott F Sieg, John W Mellors, Eric S Daar
OBJECTIVE: To assess how antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation during acute or early HIV infection (AEHI) affects the viral reservoir and host immune responses. DESIGN: Single-arm trial of ART initiation during AEHI at 30 sites in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. METHODS: HIV DNA was measured at week 48 of ART in 5 million CD4+ T cells by sensitive qPCR assays targeting HIV gag and pol. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stimulated with potential HIV T cell epitope peptide pools consisting of env, gag, nef, and pol peptides and stained for expression of CD3, CD4, CD8, and intracellular cytokines/chemokines...
March 14, 2024: AIDS