O. Lambotte et al., Detection of infectious HIV in circulating monocytes from patients on prolonged highly active antiretroviral therapy, J ACQ IMM D, 23(2), 2000, pp. 114-119
The existence of a reservoir of resting CD4(+) T cells harboring latent rep
lication-competent HIV has been demonstrated in patients on prolonged highl
y active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Latently infected tissue macrophag
es may constitute a second HIV reservoir. The pool of these cells may be ma
intained by incoming infected monocytes from blood and/or by in situ viral
replication. In this study, the presence of infectious HIV was investigated
in highly purified monocytes from 5 patients receiving HAART with undetect
able plasma viral load for up to 16 months. HIV was detected in freshly iso
lated monocytes and recovered following Staphylococcus aureus Cowan strain
1 (SAC) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) activation. No new drug resistance-asso
ciated mutation was found in monocyte-associated HIV. These results demonst
rate the long-term persistence of infectious virus in cells of the monocyte
-macrophage lineage in patients receiving HAART. These cells are capable of
releasing infectious virus under appropriate stimulations.