HIV Genomes that Hide in White Blood Cells Offer New Target to Eliminate Infections
Published:29 Apr.2023 Source:Johns Hopkins Medicine
Monocytes are short-lived circulating immune cells that are a precursor to macrophages, immune cells able to engulf and destroy viruses, bacteria and other cells foreign to the host.In the current research, published March 27 in Nature Microbiology, the scientists found evidence that blood samples from people with HIV undergoing long term, standard antiretroviral therapy contained monocytes that harbor stable HIV DNA capable of infecting neighboring cells.
The Johns Hopkins-led team of scientists obtained blood samples between 2018 and 2022 from 10 men with HIV, all of them taking long-term, standard antiretroviral medications. All 10 men had detectable HIV DNA in their monocytes-turned-macrophages, but at levels 10 times lower than those found in the men's CD4+ T cells, the well-established HIV reservoir. For the next phase of the research, to determine if HIV genomes were present in monocytes prior to macrophage differentiation, the team used an experimental assay to detect intact HIV genomes in monocytes. The researchers found HIV DNA in the CD4+ T cells and in monocytes of all 30 participants.
Three of the participants had their blood examined several times over the four-year study period, and each time, the scientists found HIV DNA and infectious virus produced by their monocyte-derived macrophages.In further research, the Johns Hopkins research team plans to pinpoint the subset of monocytes found to harbor HIV DNA and the source of these infected cells.