This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.
Efforts to cure HIV-1 infection require better quantification of the HIV-1 reservoir, particularly the clones of cells harboring replication-competent (intact) proviruses, termed repliclones. The digital droplet PCR assays commonly used to quantify intact proviruses do not differentiate among specific repliclones, thus the dynamics of repliclones are not well defined. The major challenge in tracking repliclones is the relative rarity of the cells carrying specific intact proviruses. To date, detection and accurate quantification of repliclones requires in-depth integration site sequencing. Here, we describe a simplified workflow using integration site-specific qPCR (IS-qPCR) to determine the frequencies of the proviruses integrated in individual repliclones. We designed IS-qPCR to determine the frequencies of repliclones and clones of cells that carry defective proviruses in samples from three donors. Comparing the results of IS-qPCR with deep integration site sequencing data showed that the two methods yielded concordant estimates of clone frequencies (r = 0.838). IS-qPCR is a potentially valuable tool that can be applied to multiple samples and cell types over time to measure the dynamics of individual repliclones and the efficacy of treatments designed to eliminate them.
Leah Brandt; Shuang Guo; Kevin Joseph; Jana Jacobs; Asma Naqvi; John Coffin; Mary Kearney; Elias Halvas; Xiaolin Wu; Stephen Hughes; John Mellors. Tracking HIV-1-Infected Cell Clones Using Integration Site-Specific qPCR. Viruses 2021, 13, 1235 .
AMA StyleLeah Brandt, Shuang Guo, Kevin Joseph, Jana Jacobs, Asma Naqvi, John Coffin, Mary Kearney, Elias Halvas, Xiaolin Wu, Stephen Hughes, John Mellors. Tracking HIV-1-Infected Cell Clones Using Integration Site-Specific qPCR. Viruses. 2021; 13 (7):1235.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLeah Brandt; Shuang Guo; Kevin Joseph; Jana Jacobs; Asma Naqvi; John Coffin; Mary Kearney; Elias Halvas; Xiaolin Wu; Stephen Hughes; John Mellors. 2021. "Tracking HIV-1-Infected Cell Clones Using Integration Site-Specific qPCR." Viruses 13, no. 7: 1235.
BACKGROUNDHIV-1 viremia that is not suppressed by combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) is generally attributed to incomplete medication adherence and/or drug resistance. We evaluated individuals referred by clinicians for nonsuppressible viremia (plasma HIV-1 RNA above 40 copies/mL) despite reported adherence to ART and the absence of drug resistance to the current ART regimen.METHODSSamples were collected from at least 2 time points from 8 donors who had nonsuppressible viremia for more than 6 months. Single templates of HIV-1 RNA obtained from plasma and viral outgrowth of cultured cells and from proviral DNA were amplified by PCR and sequenced for evidence of clones of cells that produced infectious viruses. Clones were confirmed by host-proviral integration site analysis.RESULTSHIV-1 genomic RNA with identical sequences were identified in plasma samples from all 8 donors. The identical viral RNA sequences did not change over time and did not evolve resistance to the ART regimen. In 4 of the donors, viral RNA sequences obtained from plasma matched those sequences from viral outgrowth cultures, indicating that the viruses were replication competent. Integration sites for infectious proviruses from those 4 donors were mapped to the introns of the MATR3, ZNF268, ZNF721/ABCA11P, and ABCA11P genes. The sizes of the clones were estimated to be from 50 million to 350 million cells.CONCLUSIONThese findings show that clones of HIV-1-infected cells producing virus can cause failure of ART to suppress viremia. The mechanisms involved in clonal expansion and persistence need to be defined to effectively target viremia and the HIV-1 reservoir.FUNDINGNational Cancer Institute, NIH; Howard Hughes Medical Research Fellows Program, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Office of AIDS Research; American Cancer Society; National Cancer Institute through a Leidos subcontract; National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, to the I4C Martin Delaney Collaboratory; University of Rochester Center for AIDS Research and University of Rochester HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Unit.
Elias K. Halvas; Kevin W. Joseph; Leah D. Brandt; Shuang Guo; Michele D. Sobolewski; Jana L. Jacobs; Camille Tumiotto; John K. Bui; Joshua C. Cyktor; Brandon F. Keele; Gene D. Morse; Michael J. Bale; Wei Shao; Mary F. Kearney; John M. Coffin; Jason W. Rausch; Xiaolin Wu; Stephen H. Hughes; John W. Mellors. HIV-1 viremia not suppressible by antiretroviral therapy can originate from large T cell clones producing infectious virus. Journal of Clinical Investigation 2020, 130, 5847 -5857.
AMA StyleElias K. Halvas, Kevin W. Joseph, Leah D. Brandt, Shuang Guo, Michele D. Sobolewski, Jana L. Jacobs, Camille Tumiotto, John K. Bui, Joshua C. Cyktor, Brandon F. Keele, Gene D. Morse, Michael J. Bale, Wei Shao, Mary F. Kearney, John M. Coffin, Jason W. Rausch, Xiaolin Wu, Stephen H. Hughes, John W. Mellors. HIV-1 viremia not suppressible by antiretroviral therapy can originate from large T cell clones producing infectious virus. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2020; 130 (11):5847-5857.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElias K. Halvas; Kevin W. Joseph; Leah D. Brandt; Shuang Guo; Michele D. Sobolewski; Jana L. Jacobs; Camille Tumiotto; John K. Bui; Joshua C. Cyktor; Brandon F. Keele; Gene D. Morse; Michael J. Bale; Wei Shao; Mary F. Kearney; John M. Coffin; Jason W. Rausch; Xiaolin Wu; Stephen H. Hughes; John W. Mellors. 2020. "HIV-1 viremia not suppressible by antiretroviral therapy can originate from large T cell clones producing infectious virus." Journal of Clinical Investigation 130, no. 11: 5847-5857.
BACKGROUND HIV-1 viremia that is not suppressed by combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) is generally attributed to incomplete medication adherence and/or drug resistance. We evaluated individuals referred for non-suppressible viremia (plasma HIV-1 RNA above 40 copies/ml) who reported adherence to ART and did not show drug resistance to their current regimen. METHODS Samples were collected from at least two time points from eight donors who had non-suppressible viremia for more than six months on ART. Single templates of HIV-1 RNA obtained from plasma and viral outgrowth of cultured cells and from proviral DNA were PCR-amplified and sequenced for evidence of clones of cells that produced infectious viruses. Clones were identified by host-proviral integration site analysis. RESULTS HIV-1 genomic RNAs with identical sequences were identified in plasma samples from all eight donors. The identical viral RNA sequences did not change over time and lacked resistance to the ART regimen. In four of the donors, viral RNA sequences obtained from plasma matched those sequences from viral outgrowth cultures, indicating that the viruses were replication-competent. Integration sites for infectious proviruses from those four donors were mapped to introns of theMATR3,ZNF268,ZNF721/ABCA11P, andABCA11Pgenes. The sizes of the clones were from 50 million to 350 million cells. CONCLUSION Clones of HIV-1-infected cells producing virus can cause failure of ART to suppress viremia despite medication adherence and absence of drug resistance. The mechanisms involved in clonal expansion and persistence need to be defined to eliminate viremia and the HIV-1 reservoir.
Elias K. Halvas; Kevin W. Joseph; Leah D. Brandt; Shuang Guo; Michele D. Sobolewski; Jana L. Jacobs; Camille Tumiotto; John K. Bui; Joshua C. Cyktor; Brandon F. Keele; Gene D. Morse; Michael J. Bale; Mary F. Kearney; John M. Coffin; Jason W. Rausch; Xiaolin Wu; Stephen H. Hughes; John W. Mellors. HIV-1 Viremia Not Suppressible By Antiretroviral Therapy Can Originate from Large T-Cell Clones Producing Infectious Virus. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleElias K. Halvas, Kevin W. Joseph, Leah D. Brandt, Shuang Guo, Michele D. Sobolewski, Jana L. Jacobs, Camille Tumiotto, John K. Bui, Joshua C. Cyktor, Brandon F. Keele, Gene D. Morse, Michael J. Bale, Mary F. Kearney, John M. Coffin, Jason W. Rausch, Xiaolin Wu, Stephen H. Hughes, John W. Mellors. HIV-1 Viremia Not Suppressible By Antiretroviral Therapy Can Originate from Large T-Cell Clones Producing Infectious Virus. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleElias K. Halvas; Kevin W. Joseph; Leah D. Brandt; Shuang Guo; Michele D. Sobolewski; Jana L. Jacobs; Camille Tumiotto; John K. Bui; Joshua C. Cyktor; Brandon F. Keele; Gene D. Morse; Michael J. Bale; Mary F. Kearney; John M. Coffin; Jason W. Rausch; Xiaolin Wu; Stephen H. Hughes; John W. Mellors. 2020. "HIV-1 Viremia Not Suppressible By Antiretroviral Therapy Can Originate from Large T-Cell Clones Producing Infectious Virus." , no. : 1.
Sediments within the Okinawa back-arc basin overlay a subsurface hydrothermal network, creating intense temperature gradients with sediment depth and potential limits for microbial diversity. We investigated taxonomic changes across 45 m of recovered core with a temperature gradient of 3°C/m from the dynamic Iheya North Hydrothermal System. The interval transitions sharply from low-temperature marine mud to hydrothermally altered clay at 10 meters below seafloor (mbsf). Here, we present taxonomic results from an analysis of the 16S rRNA gene that support a conceptual model in which common marine subsurface taxa persist into the subsurface, while high temperature adapted archaeal taxa show localized peaks in abundances in the hydrothermal clay horizons. Specifically, the bacterial phylum Chloroflexi accounts for a major proportion of the total microbial community within the upper 10 mbsf, whereas high temperature archaea (Terrestrial Hot Spring Crenarchaeotic Group and methanotrophic archaea) appear in varying local abundances in deeper, hydrothermal clay horizons with higherin situtemperatures (up to 55°C, 15 mbsf). In addition, geochemical evidence suggests that methanotrophy may be occurring in various horizons. There is also relict DNA (i.e., DNA preserved after cell death) that persists in horizons where the conditions suitable for microbial communities have ceased.
Leah D. Brandt; Christopher H. House. Marine Subsurface Microbial Community Shifts Across a Hydrothermal Gradient in Okinawa Trough Sediments. Archaea 2016, 2016, 1 -12.
AMA StyleLeah D. Brandt, Christopher H. House. Marine Subsurface Microbial Community Shifts Across a Hydrothermal Gradient in Okinawa Trough Sediments. Archaea. 2016; 2016 ():1-12.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLeah D. Brandt; Christopher H. House. 2016. "Marine Subsurface Microbial Community Shifts Across a Hydrothermal Gradient in Okinawa Trough Sediments." Archaea 2016, no. : 1-12.