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West E, Zeeb M, Grube C, Kuster H, Wanner K, Scheier T, Neumann K, Jörimann L, Hampel B, Metzner KJ, Kouyos RD, Braun DL, Günthard HF. Sustained Viral Suppression With Dolutegravir Monotherapy Over 192 Weeks in Patients Starting Combination Antiretroviral Therapy During Primary Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection (EARLY-SIMPLIFIED): A Randomized, Controlled, Multi-site, Noninferiority Trial. Clin Infect Dis 2023; 77:1012-1020. [PMID: 37338148 PMCID: PMC10552587 DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciad366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Revised: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Starting combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) during primary human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection results in a smaller HIV-1 latent reservoir, reduced immune activation, and less viral diversity compared to starting cART during chronic infection. We report results of a 4-year study designed to determine whether these properties would allow sustained virological suppression after simplification of cART to dolutegravir (DTG) monotherapy. METHODS EARLY-SIMPLIFIED is a randomized, open-label, noninferiority trial. People with HIV (PWH) who started cART <180 days after a documented primary HIV-1 infection with suppressed viral load were randomized (2:1) to DTG monotherapy with 50 mg daily or continuation of cART. The primary endpoints were the proportion of PWH with viral failure at 48, 96, 144, and 192 weeks; noninferiority margin was 10%. After 96 weeks, randomization was lifted and patients were permitted to switch treatment groups as desired. RESULTS Of 101 PWH randomized, 68 were assigned to DTG monotherapy and 33 to cART. At week 96 in the per-protocol population, 64/64 (100%) showed virological response in the DTG monotherapy group versus 30/30 (100%) in the cART group (difference, 0.00%; upper bound of 95% confidence interval 6.22%). This demonstrated noninferiority of DTG monotherapy at the prespecified level. At week 192, the study end, no virological failure occurred in either group during 13 308 and 4897 person weeks of follow-up for the DTG monotherapy (n = 80) and cART groups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS This trial suggests that early cART initiation during primary HIV infection allows sustained virological suppression after switching to DTG monotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily West
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marius Zeeb
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christina Grube
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Herbert Kuster
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Katrin Wanner
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Scheier
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Kathrin Neumann
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lisa Jörimann
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Benjamin Hampel
- Checkpoint Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Public and Global Health, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Karin J Metzner
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Roger D Kouyos
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Dominique L Braun
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Huldrych F Günthard
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Jörimann L, Tschumi J, Zeeb M, Leemann C, Schenkel CD, Neumann K, Chaudron SE, Zaheri M, Frischknecht P, Neuner-Jehle N, Kuster H, Braun DL, Grube C, Kouyos R, Metzner KJ, Günthard HF. Absence of Proviral Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Type 1 Evolution in Early-Treated Individuals With HIV Switching to Dolutegravir Monotherapy During 48 Weeks. J Infect Dis 2023; 228:907-918. [PMID: 37498738 PMCID: PMC10547464 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiad292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection is treated with antiretroviral therapy (ART), usually consisting of 2-3 different drugs, referred to as combination ART (cART). Our recent randomized clinical trial comparing a switch to dolutegravir monotherapy with continuation of cART in early-treated individuals demonstrated sustained virological suppression over 48 weeks. Here, we characterize the longitudinal landscape of the HIV-1 reservoir in these participants, with particular attention to potential differences between treatment groups regarding evidence of evolution as a proxy for low-level replication. Near full-length HIV-1 proviral polymerase chain reaction and next-generation sequencing was applied to longitudinal peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples to assess proviral evolution and the potential emergence of drug resistance mutations (DRMs). Neither an increase in genetic distance nor diversity over time was detected in participants of both treatment groups. Single proviral analysis showed high proportions of defective proviruses and low DRM numbers. No evidence for evolution during dolutegravir monotherapy was found in these early-treated individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Jörimann
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jasmin Tschumi
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marius Zeeb
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christine Leemann
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Corinne D Schenkel
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Kathrin Neumann
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sandra E Chaudron
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Maryam Zaheri
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Paul Frischknecht
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich
| | - Nadia Neuner-Jehle
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Herbert Kuster
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Dominique L Braun
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christina Grube
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich
| | - Roger Kouyos
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Karin J Metzner
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Huldrych F Günthard
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
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Jaha B, Schenkel CD, Jörimann L, Huber M, Zaheri M, Neumann K, Leemann C, Calmy A, Cavassini M, Kouyos RD, Günthard HF, Metzner KJ. Prevalence of HIV-1 drug resistance mutations in proviral DNA in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study, a retrospective study from 1995 to 2018. J Antimicrob Chemother 2023; 78:2323-2334. [PMID: 37545164 PMCID: PMC10477134 DOI: 10.1093/jac/dkad240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Genotypic resistance testing (GRT) is routinely performed upon diagnosis of HIV-1 infection or during virological failure using plasma viral RNA. An alternative source for GRT could be cellular HIV-1 DNA. OBJECTIVES A substantial number of participants in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS) never received GRT. We applied a method that enables access to the near full-length proviral HIV-1 genome without requiring detectable viraemia. METHODS Nine hundred and sixty-two PBMC specimens were received. Our two-step nested PCR protocol was applied to generate two overlapping long-range amplicons of the HIV-1 genome, sequenced by next-generation sequencing (NGS) and analysed by MinVar, a pipeline to detect drug resistance mutations (DRMs). RESULTS Six hundred and eighty-one (70.8%) of the samples were successfully amplified, sequenced and analysed by MinVar. Only partial information of the pol gene was contained in 82/681 (12%), probably due to naturally occurring deletions in the proviral sequence. All common HIV-1 subtypes were successfully sequenced. We detected at least one major DRM at high frequency (≥15%) in 331/599 (55.3%) individuals. Excluding APOBEC-signature (G-to-A mutation) DRMs, 145/599 (24.2%) individuals carried at least one major DRM. RT-inhibitor DRMs were most prevalent. The experienced time on ART was significantly longer in DRM carriers (P = 0.001) independent of inclusion or exclusion of APOBEC-signature DRMs. CONCLUSIONS We successfully applied a reliable and efficient method to analyse near full-length HIV-1 proviral DNA and investigated DRMs in individuals with undetectable or low viraemia. Additionally, our data underscore the need for new computational tools to exclude APOBEC-related hypermutated NGS sequence reads for reporting DRMs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bashkim Jaha
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Corinne D Schenkel
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lisa Jörimann
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Michael Huber
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Maryam Zaheri
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Kathrin Neumann
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christine Leemann
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Alexandra Calmy
- Division of Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Geneva, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Cavassini
- Division of Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Lausanne, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Roger D Kouyos
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Huldrych F Günthard
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Karin J Metzner
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
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Inderbitzin A, Kok YL, Jörimann L, Kelley A, Neumann K, Heinzer D, Cathomen T, Metzner KJ. HIV-1 promoter is gradually silenced when integrated into BACH2 in Jurkat T-cells. PeerJ 2020; 8:e10321. [PMID: 33282555 PMCID: PMC7694569 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The persistence of the latent HIV-1 reservoir is a major obstacle to curing HIV-1 infection. HIV-1 integrates into the cellular genome and some targeted genomic loci are frequently detected in clonally expanded latently HIV-1 infected cells, for instance, the gene BTB domain and CNC homology 2 (BACH2). METHODS We investigated HIV-1 promoter activity after integration into specific sites in BACH2 in Jurkat T-cells. The HIV-1-based vector LTatCL[M] contains two fluorophores: (1) Cerulean, which reports the activity of the HIV-1 promoter and (2) mCherry driven by a constitutive promotor and flanked by genetic insulators. This vector was inserted into introns 2 and 5 of BACH2 of Jurkat T-cells via CRISPR/Cas9 technology in the same and convergent transcriptional orientation of BACH2, and into the genomic safe harbour AAVS1. Single cell clones representing active (Cerulean+/mCherry+) and inactive (Cerulean-/mCherry+) HIV-1 promoters were characterised. RESULTS Upon targeted integration of the 5.3 kb vector LTatCL[M] into BACH2, the HIV-1 promoter was gradually silenced as reflected by the decrease in Cerulean expression over a period of 162 days. Silenced HIV-1 promoters could be reactivated by TNF-α and Romidepsin. This observation was independent of the targeted intron and the transcriptional orientation. BACH2 mRNA and protein expression was not impaired by mono-allelic integration of LTatCL[M]. CONCLUSION Successful targeted integration of the HIV-1-based vector LTatCL[M] allows longitudinal analyses of HIV-1 promoter activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Inderbitzin
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Life Science Zurich Graduate School, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Yik Lim Kok
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lisa Jörimann
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Life Science Zurich Graduate School, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Audrey Kelley
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Life Science Zurich Graduate School, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Kathrin Neumann
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Heinzer
- Institute for Neuropathology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Neuroscience Center Zurich Graduate School, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Toni Cathomen
- Institute for Transfusion Medicine and Gene Therapy, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Karin J. Metzner
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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