Using multiparameter imaging to understand HIV persistence in tissue in people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy

Abstract

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically reduced morbidity and mortality for people living with HIV-1 (PLWH) however treatment is life long and there is no cure. The main barrier to an HIV-1 cure is the persistence of long lived and proliferating latently infected CD4+ T-cells. These cells are more commonly found in tissue such as lymph node (LN) or the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Latency can be established in multiple T-cell subsets, but the contribution of regulatory T-cells (Tregs) as targets for HIV-1 infection and latency are not well defined. These cells express the transcription factor FoxP3 as well as the immune checkpoint (IC) markers programmed death (PD-1) and cytotoxic T ly..