In human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, persistent inflammation despite effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) is linked to increased risk of non-infectious chronic complications such as cardiovascular and thromboembolic disease. A better understanding of inflammatory and coagulation pathways in HIV infection is needed to optimize clinical care. Markers of monocyte activation and coagulation independently predict morbidity and mortality associated with non-AIDS events. In this study, we identified a specific subset of monocytes that express tissue factor (TF), persist after virological suppression and trigger the coagulation cascade by activating factor X. This subset of monocytes expressing TF had a distinct gene signature with upregulated innate immune markers as well as evidence of robust production of multiple proinflammatory cytokines including IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6 ex vivo and in vitro upon LPS stimulation. We validated our findings in a nonhuman primate model, showing that TF-expressing inflammatory monocytes were associated with SIV-related coagulopathy in the progressive (pigtail macaques) but not the non-pathogenic (African Green Monkeys) SIV infection model. Lastly, Ixolaris, an anti-coagulant that inhibits the TF pathway, was tested and potently blocked functional TF activity in vitro in HIV and SIV infection without affecting monocyte responses to toll-like receptor (TLR) stimulation. Strikingly, in vivo treatment of chronically infected PTMs with Ixolaris was associated with significant decreases in D-dimer and immune activation. These data suggest that TF expressing monocytes are at the epicenter of inflammation and coagulation in chronic HIV and SIV infection and may represent a potential therapeutic target.
The HIV-1/AIDS pandemic continues to spread unabated worldwide, and no vaccine exists within our grasp. Effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been developed, but ART cannot clear the virus from the infected patient. A cure for HIV-1 is badly needed to stop both the spread of the virus in human populations and disease progression in infected individuals. A safe and effective cure strategy for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection will require multiple tools, and appropriate animal models are tools that are central to cure research. An ideal animal model should recapitulate the essential aspects of HIV pathogenesis and associated immune responses, while permitting invasive studies, thus allowing a thorough evaluation of strategies aimed at reducing the size of the reservoir (functional cure) or eliminating the reservoir altogether (sterilizing cure). Since there is no perfect animal model for cure research, multiple models have been tailored and tested to address specific quintessential questions of virus persistence and eradication. The development of new non-human primate and mouse models, along with a certain interest in the feline model, has the potential to fuel cure research. In this review, we highlight the major animal models currently utilized for cure research and the contributions of each model to this goal.
Increased chronic immune activation and inflammation are hallmarks of HIV/SIV infection and are highly correlated with progression to AIDS and development of non-AIDS comorbidities, such as hypercoagulability and cardiovascular disease. Intestinal dysfunction resulting in microbial translocation has been proposed as a lead cause of systemic immune activation and hypercoagulability in HIV/SIV infection. Our goal was to assess the biological and clinical impact of a therapeutic strategy designed to reduce microbial translocation through reduction of the microbial content of the intestine (Rifaximin-RFX) and of gut inflammation (Sulfasalazine-SFZ). RFX is an intraluminal antibiotic that was successfully used in patients with hepatic encephalopathy. SFZ is an antiinflammatory drug successfully used in patients with mild to moderate inflammatory bowel disease. Both these clinical conditions are associated with increased microbial translocation, similar to HIV-infected patients. Treatment was administered for 90 days to five acutely SIV-infected pigtailed macaques (PTMs) starting at the time of infection; seven untreated SIVsab-infected PTMs were used as controls. RFX+SFZ were also administered for 90 days to three chronically SIVsab-infected PTMs. RFX+SFZ administration during acute SIVsab infection of PTMs resulted in: significantly lower microbial translocation, lower systemic immune activation, lower viral replication, better preservation of mucosal CD4+ T cells and significantly lower levels of hypercoagulation biomarkers. This effect was clear during the first 40 days of treatment and was lost during the last stages of treatment. Administration of RFX+SFZ to chronically SIVsab–infected PTMs had no discernible effect on infection. Our data thus indicate that early RFX+SFZ administration transiently improves the natural history of acute and postacute SIV infection, but has no effect during chronic infection.
Unlike HIV infection, SIV infection is generally nonpathogenic in natural hosts, such as African green monkeys (AGMs), despite lifelong high viral replication. Lack of disease progression was reportedly based on the ability of SIV-infected AGMs to prevent gut dysfunction, avoiding microbial translocation and the associated systemic immune activation and chronic inflammation. Yet, the maintenance of gut integrity has never been documented, and the mechanism(s) by which gut integrity is preserved are unknown. We sought to investigate the early events of SIV infection in AGMs, specifically examining the impact of SIVsab infection on the gut mucosa. Twenty-nine adult male AGMs were intrarectally infected with SIV-sab92018 and serially sacrificed at well-defined stages of SIV infection, preramp-up (1-3 days post-infection (dpi)), ramp-up (4-6 dpi), peak viremia (9-12 dpi), and early chronic SIV infection (46-55 dpi), to assess the levels of immune activation, apoptosis, epithelial damage and microbial translocation in the GI tract and peripheral lymph nodes. Tissue viral loads, plasma cytokines and plasma markers of gut dysfunction were also measured
T regulatory cells (Tregs) are critical in shaping the latent HIV/SIV reservoir, as they are preferentially infected, reverse CD4+ T cell activation status and suppress CTL responses. To reactivate latent virus and boost cell-mediated immune responses, we performed in vivo Treg depletion with Ontak (Denileukin diftitox) in two SIVsab-infected controller macaques. Ontak induced significant (>75%) Treg depletion, major CD4+ T cell activation and only minimally depleted CD8+ T cells. The overall ability of Tregs to control immune responses was significantly impaired in spite of their incomplete depletion, resulting in both reactivation of latent virus (virus rebound to 103 vRNA copies/ml of plasma in the absence of antiretroviral therapy) and a significant boost of SIV-specific CD8+ T cell frequency, with rapid clearance of reactivated virus. As none of the latency reversing agents in development have such dual activity, our strategy holds great promise for cure research.
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