Background There is intense interest in the role of programmed death 1 (PD-1) in causing persistent T-cell dysfunction in HIV infection. However, the impact of HIV infection and antiretroviral treatment (ART) on the expression of PD-1 on T cells is still poorly defined. Methods PD-1 was measured longitudinally in a cohort of recently HIV-infected individuals (n = 121) who started ART early (<6 months after infection) vs. later (≥2 years after infection). PD-1 was also measured cross-sectionally in a diverse cohort of chronically HIV-infected adults (n = 206). Results PD-1 expression levels were high on CD8+ T cells during early HIV infection. PD-1 levels increased on both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells populations in those who delayed therapy (11 and 10%/year, respectively). PD-1 levels declined and were similar in those treated early vs. late after 1 year of ART. In both cohorts, PD-1 expression on CD4+ T cells was associated with CD4+ T-cell activation (CD38+HLA-DR+) and inversely with CD4+ cell count. In contrast, PD-1 expression on CD8+ T cells was most strongly associated with CD8+ T-cell activation and with plasma viral load in viremic individuals. Conclusion Across two large cohorts of untreated and treated individuals, we found consistent associations between HIV RNA levels, CD8+ T-cell activation and PD-1 expression on CD8+ T cells. In contrast, CD4+ T-cell counts and CD4+ T-cell activation were more consistent correlates of PD-1 expression on CD4+ T cells. PD-1 expression appears to be driven by both direct antigen and homeostatic pathways.

The association between the host immune environment and the size of the HIV reservoir during effective antiretroviral therapy is not clear. Progress has also been limited by the lack of a well-accepted assay for quantifying HIV during therapy. We examined the association between multiple measurements of HIV and T cell activation (as defined by markers including CD38, HLA-DR, CCR5 and PD-1) in 30 antiretroviral-treated HIV-infected adults. We found a consistent association between the frequency of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells expressing HLA-DR and the frequency of resting CD4+ T cells containing HIV DNA. This study highlights the need to further examine this relationship and to better characterize the biology of markers commonly used in HIV studies. These results may also have implications for reactivation strategies.

Objective To determine the relationship of HIV infection, demographic and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors with mortality in the recent HAART era. Methods Vital status was ascertained from 2004–2007 in 922 HIV-infected and 280 controls in the Study of Fat Redistribution and Metabolic Change in HIV infection; 469 HIV-infected were included in analysis comparing HIV to similar age controls. Multivariable exponential survival regression (adjusting for demographic and CVD factors) estimated hazard ratios (HR) for death. Results After 5 years of follow-up, the overall adjusted mortality HR was 3.4[95% confidence interval (CI):1.35,8.5]; HR was 6.3 among HIV-infected with CD4<200(95% CI:2.2,18.2), 4.3 with CD4 200–350(95% CI:1.14,16.0), and 2.3 with CD4>350(95% CI:0.78,6.9). Among HIV-infected, current smoking (HR=2.73 vs. never smokers, 95% CI:1.64,4.5) and older age (HR=1.61 per decade, 95% CI:1.27,2.1) were independent risk factors for death; higher baseline CD4 count was associated with lower risk (HR=0.65 per CD4 doubling, 95% CI:0.58,0.73). Conclusion HIV infection was associated with a 3-fold mortality risk compared to controls after adjustment for demographic and CVD risk factors. In addition to low baseline CD4 count, older age and current smoking were strong and independent predictors of mortality in a US cohort of HIV-infected participants in clinical care.

Objective The eradication of HIV necessitates elimination of the HIV latent reservoir. Identifying host determinants governing latency and reservoir size in the setting of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is an important step in developing strategies to cure HIV infection. We sought to determine the impact of cell-intrinsic immunity on the HIV latent reservoir. Design We investigated the relevance of a comprehensive panel of established anti-HIV-1 host restriction factors to multiple established virologic and immunologic measures of viral persistence in HIV-1-infected, ART-suppressed individuals. Methods We measured the mRNA expression of 42 anti-HIV-1 host restriction factors, levels of cell-associated HIV-1 RNA, levels of total pol and 2-LTR circle HIV-1 DNA, and immunophenotypes of CD4+ T cells in 72 HIV-1-infected subjects on suppressive ART (23 subjects initiated ART <1 year post-infection, and 49 subjects initiated ART >1 year post-infection). Correlations were analyzed using non-parametric tests. Results The enhanced expression of a few select host restriction factors, p21, schlafen 11, and PAF1, was strongly associated with reduced CD4+ T cell-associated HIV RNA during ART (p<0.001). In addition, our data suggested that ART perturbs the regulatory relationship between CD4+ T cell activation and restriction factor expression. Lastly, cell-intrinsic immune responses were significantly enhanced in subjects who initiated ART during early versus chronic infection, and may contribute to the reduced reservoir size observed in these individuals. Conclusions Intrinsic immune responses modulate HIV persistence during suppressive ART, and may be manipulated to enhance the efficacy of ART and promote viral eradication through reversal of latency in vivo.