Pivotal role of M-DC8⁺ monocytes from viremic HIV-infected patients in TNFα overproduction in response to microbial products.

HIV infects activated CD4⁺ T cells and induces their depletion. Progressive HIV infection leading to AIDS is fueled by chronic immune hyperactivation, mediated by inflammatory cytokines like TNFα. This has been related to intestinal epithelial damage and microbial LPS translocation into the circulation. Using 11-color flow cytometry, cell sorting, and cell culture, we investigated the numbers and TNFα production of fully defined circulating dendritic cell and monocyte populations during HIV-1 infection. In 15 viremic, untreated patients, compared with 8 treated, virologically suppressed patients or to 13 healthy blood donors, circulating CD141 (BDCA-3)⁺ and CD1c (BDCA-1)⁺ dendritic cell counts were reduced. Conversely, CD14⁺ CD16⁺⁺ monocyte counts were increased, particularly those expressing M-DC8, while classical CD14⁺⁺ CD16⁻ M-DC8⁻ monocyte numbers were unchanged. Blood mononuclear cells from viremic patients produced more TNFα in response to LPS than those from virologically suppressed patients. M-DC8⁺ monocytes were mostly responsible for this overproduction. Moreover, M-DC8⁺ monocytes differentiated in vitro from classical monocytes using M-CSF and GM-CSF, which is increased in viremic patient's plasma. This M-DC8⁺ monocyte population, which is involved in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory diseases like Crohn disease, might thus be considered as a major actor in the immune hyperactivation fueling HIV infection progression.

Identification of a particular HIV-specific CD8+ T-cell subset with a CD27+ CD45RO-/RA+ phenotype and memory characteristics after initiation of HAART during acute primary HIV infection.

CD8(+) T cells play an important role in controlling viral infections. Defective CD8(+) T-cell responses during HIV infection could contribute to viral persistence. Early initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy during acute primary HIV infection helps to preserve HIV-specific immune responses. Here, we describe a particular CD27(+) CD45RO(-)/RA(+) HIV-specific CD8(+) T cell in participants treated early during the primary infection. These cells, which were present at a very low frequency during primary HIV infection, increased markedly after early treatment, whereas their frequency remained unchanged in untreated participants and in participants treated later. These nonnaive antigen-experienced cells are in a resting state and have characteristics of long-lived memory cells. They also possess direct effector capabilities, such as cytokine production, and are able to proliferate and to acquire cytotoxic functions on reactivation. Our results suggest that these HIV-specific CD27(+) CD45RO(-)/RA(+) CD8(+) T cells, observed when early viral replication is inhibited, form a pool of resting cells with memory characteristics.

Low frequency of CXCR4-using viruses in patients at the time of primary non-subtype-B HIV-1 infection.

We used genotypic and phenotypic assays to estimate the frequency of X4/DM viruses in 131 patients infected with non-subtype-B viruses at the time of primary HIV-1 infection (PHI). All patients were enrolled in the French PRIMO Cohort from 1996 to 2007. Most strains belonged to CRF02_AG (51.1%) and subtype A (14.5%). Sixteen viruses (12.2%) were classified as CXCR4 tropic ("X4 strains") by the combined criteria of amino acids 11 and 25 of the V3 loop (11/25) and net charge rules and/or the SVMgeno2pheno(10%) algorithm: 6 strains by the combined genotypic rule, 7 by the SVMgeno2pheno(10%) algorithm, and 3, clustering in subtype D, by both algorithms. However, only one strain (0.8%), belonging to subtype A, was defined as a dual-tropic (DM) virus by the phenotypic assay. The 67 CRF02_AG strains included 2 classified as X4 strains by the combined genotypic rule (3%) and 2 others classified as X4 strains by SVMgeno2pheno(10%) (3%), but none of these 4 strains was an X4 or DM strain according to the phenotypic assay. These results suggest that the cellular virus reservoir was established with X4 strains in very few non-subtype-B-infected patients at the time of PHI. Genotypic predictions can overestimate the proportion of non-subtype-B X4 viruses at PHI.

Despite being highly diverse, immunovirological status strongly correlates with clinical symptoms during primary HIV-1 infection: a cross-sectional study based on 674 patients enrolled in the ANRS CO 06 PRIMO cohort.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse immunovirological status during primary HIV-1 infection (PHI) according to contemporary clinical status and time since infection. METHODS: Plasma HIV-RNA and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) HIV-DNA levels and CD4 cell counts were determined at enrolment in the ANRS PRIMO cohort. Time since infection was estimated based on both the number of antibodies on western blot at enrolment (0-1, 2-4 or > or =5 specific antibodies) and the estimated interval between infection and enrolment based on clinical and epidemiological features. Patients were classified according to the presence or absence of clinical symptoms at enrolment. RESULTS: Between 1996 and 2006, 674 patients were enrolled an estimated median of 47 days after infection. Median marker values were as follows: HIV-RNA 5.10 log(10) copies/mL (range <1.70-8.33); HIV-DNA 3.30 log(10) copies/10(6) PBMCs (<1.84-4.93); and 506 CD4 cells/mm(3) (40-1542). Median HIV-RNA and PBMC HIV-DNA levels were significantly higher in patients with 0 or 1 specific antibody (n = 71) than in patients with 2-4 (n = 228) or > or =5 antibodies (n = 375). Symptomatic patients had significantly higher HIV-RNA and PBMC HIV-DNA levels and lower CD4 cell counts. However, 10% of symptomatic patients recruited shortly after infection had favourable immunovirological status. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma HIV-RNA, PBMC HIV-DNA and CD4 cell count values were highly diverse and correlated strongly with clinical status during PHI. Early diagnosis was not always associated with severe PHI. Combining PBMC HIV-DNA with HIV-RNA, CD4 cell count and clinical symptoms would have allowed identification of 179 patients (26.5%) at high risk of rapid disease progression who did not meet current guidelines for early treatment initiation.

Undetectable HIV-1 RNA load with the Cobas TaqMan v1.0 in a patient diagnosed at the time of primary HIV-1 infection.

Diagnosis of primary HIV-1 infection is challenging due to the presence of a serological window; thus, HIV-1-RNA quantitation and/or measurement of p24 antigenemia are recommended in such cases. A patient was diagnosed at the time of primary HIV-1 infection, he harbored a CFR02_AG subtype virus; quantitation of plasma HIV-1-RNA yielded an undetectable result according to one commercial assay, while HIV-1-RNA was detectable when measured with three other assays.

Genomewide association study of a rapid progression cohort identifies new susceptibility alleles for AIDS (ANRS Genomewide Association Study 03).

BACKGROUND: Previous genomewide association studies (GWASs) of AIDS have targeted end points based on the control of viral load and disease nonprogression. The discovery of genetic factors that predispose individuals to rapid progression to AIDS should also reveal new insights into the molecular etiology of the pathology. METHODS: We undertook a case-control GWAS of a unique cohort of 85 human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected patients who experienced rapid disease progression, using Illumina HumanHap300 BeadChips. The case group was compared with a control group of 1352 individuals for the 291,119 autosomal single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) passing the quality control tests, using the false-discovery rate (FDR) statistical method for multitest correction. RESULTS: Novel associations with rapid progression (FDR, < or = 25%) were identified for PRMT6 (P = 6.1 x 10(-7); odds ratio [OR], 0.24), SOX5 (P = 1.8 x 10(-6); OR, 0.45), RXRG (P = 3.9 x 10(-6); OR, 3.29), and TGFBRAP1 (P = 7 x 10(-6); OR, 0.34). The haplotype analysis identified exonic and promoter SNPs potentially important for PRMT6 and TGFBRAP1 function. CONCLUSIONS: The statistical and biological relevance of these associations and their high ORs underscore the power of extreme phenotypes for GWASs, even with a modest sample size. These genetic results emphasize the role of the transforming growth factor beta pathway in the pathogenesis of HIV-1 disease. Finally, the wealth of information provided by this study should help unravel new diagnostic and therapeutic targets.

Spontaneous control of viral replication during primary HIV infection: when is "HIV controller" status established?

Eight patients in the ANRS PRIMO cohort experienced early spontaneous viral control. Viral control was established a median of 6.2 months after primary human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection and lasted a median of 4.1 years. Seven of the patients initially had detectable viral replication. For 4 patients, viral control was lost during follow-up.

High frequency of X4/DM-tropic viruses in PBMC samples from patients with primary HIV-1 subtype-B infection in 1996-2007: the French ANRS CO06 PRIMO Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the frequency of viruses with X4 or dual-X4/DM tropism from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of 390 human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) subtype-B patients diagnosed at the time of primary HIV-1 infection (PHI) between 1996 and 2007 and enrolled in the PRIMO Cohort. METHODS: V3 loop sequences were amplified from HIV-1-DNA and analysed with a combination of five genotypic rules to predict tropism: (i) the '11/25 rule'; (ii) the net charge rule; (iii) the PSSM(X4/DM) algorithm; (iv) the PSSM(SI/NSI) algorithm; and (v) the SVM(Geno2pheno) algorithm. RESULTS: A high proportion (62/390, 15.9%) of patients harboured X4/DM-tropic viruses. This prevalence was stable over time: 18.1% before 2003 versus 14.8% since 2003. No difference according to HIV tropism was noted in HIV-RNA levels, CD4 cell count, time between infection and enrolment, and HIV infection risk factor. The frequency of X4/DM-tropic virus was similar among patients infected with a resistant virus (12/62, 19.4%) compared with patients harbouring wild-type strains (50/328, 15.2%). CONCLUSIONS: This large French epidemiological study evidenced a high proportion of patients (15.9%) harbouring X4/DM-tropic viruses in PBMCs at the time of PHI, suggesting the existence of a cellular X4/DM viral reservoir that could persist for lengthy period of time. Several reports identified that HIV-1 CXCR4 usage was more frequent among patients who developed AIDS and was a powerful predictor of the response to antiretrovirals. Further studies are needed to evaluate the impact of such strains on the outcome of HIV disease, when they are detected at the time of primary infection.

New and old complex recombinant HIV-1 strains among patients with primary infection in 1996-2006 in France: the French ANRS CO06 primo cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Prevalence of HIV-1 non-B subtypes has increased overtime in patients diagnosed at the time of primary infection (PHI) in France. Our objective was to characterize in detail non-B strains which could not be genetically classified into the known subtypes/Circulating Recombinant Forms (CRFs). METHODS: Among 744 patients enrolled in the ANRS PRIMO Cohort since 1996, 176 (23.7%) were infected with HIV-1 non-B strains. The subtype/CRF could not be identified in RT for 15 (2%). The V3-V5 env region was sequenced and 3 strains (04FR-KZS, 06FR-CRN, 04FR-AUK) were full-length sequenced. Phylogenetic and bootscan analyses were used to characterize the mosaic structures. RESULTS: Among V3-V5 sequences, 6 were divergent A, 2 distantly related to E or D, 2 C, 1 B and 2 remained unclassified. 04FR-KZS, isolated in a Congolese woman infected in France, clustered with 2 previously described viruses from the Democratic Republic of Congo. They represent CRF27_cpx involving A/E/G/H/J/K/U subtypes. 06FR-CRN, isolated in a homosexual Caucasian patient, was a B/C/U recombinant involving a Brazilian C strain. 04FR-AUK, isolated in a Congolese patient infected in France, was a A/K/CRF09/U recombinant clustering from gag to vif with HIV-1 MAL. Others PHI were further observed in 2006-2007 with 1 KZS and 5 CRN-like viruses, suggesting their spread in France. CONCLUSION: This study illustrates the increasing HIV-1 diversity in France associating new (06FR-CRN) and old (CRF27_cpx and "MAL-like" 04FR-AUK) strains, which are rare in their region of origin but may have a possible founder effect in France. Our results strengthen the French guidelines recommending viro-epidemiological surveillance of HIV-1 diversity.

HIV-1 co-infection prevalence in two cohorts of early HIV-1 seroconverters in France.

Despite anecdotal reports of HIV-1 co-infections and super-infections, few large-scale prevalence studies are available on multiple HIV-1 infection. We systematically searched for HIV-1 co-infections by means of a heteroduplex mobility assay in 660 HIV-1 seroconverters from the two ANRS SEROCO and PRIMO cohorts. Our results strongly suggest that HIV-1 co-infection remains a rare phenomenon in HIV-1 seroconverters infected in France between 1986 and 2004.

Response to HAART in French patients with resistant HIV-1 treated at primary infection: ANRS Resistance Network.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to analyse the response to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) initiated at the time of primary HIV infection (PHI) in patients infected with a virus resistant to > or = 1 drug of their treatment compared with patients infected with a wild-type virus. METHODS: We analysed data from 350 patients who were enrolled from 1996-2004 in the French ANRS PRIMO Cohort or in the ANRS Resistance Group and treated with HAART during PHI. During the study period, HAART was initiated before the result of the genotypic resistance test was available. We compared patients infected with a virus resistant to > or = 1 drug of their regimen (GR group, n = 46) with patients harbouring a wild-type virus (WT group, n = 304). Virological and immunological response to treatment according to drug-resistance profile was analysed 3 months and 6 months after HAART initiation. RESULTS: In GR and WT groups, HIV RNA level was < 400 copies/ml in 68% and 83% (P = 0.02) and < 50 copies/ml in 23% and 40% (P = 0.08) 3 months after HAART initiation. In multivariable logistic regression taking into account gender, age, boosted PI regimen, plasma HIV RNA and CD4+ T-cell count at HAART initiation, patients with virus resistant to > or = 1 drug of their regimen were significantly less likely to achieve undetectable viral load at month 3 (odds ratio 0.32, 95% confidence interval 0.15-0.72) than the others. This difference was sustained up to month 6. CONCLUSION: In this large cohort of HAART-treated PHI-patients, the presence of drug resistance mutations led to suboptimal response to early therapy.

Yearly number of patients diagnosed with primary HIV-1 infection in France estimated by a capture-recapture approach.

We used a two-source capture-recapture method to estimate the number of patients diagnosed at the time of primary HIV infection in France between 1999 and 2002. The sources were the French PRIMO cohort and the French Hospital Database on HIV. The estimated number of patients was 325 per year, which represents only 5% (approximately 6000 cases) of all new cases diagnosed each year and only 8% of all new infections (approximately 4000 cases).

HIV-1 resistant strains acquired at the time of primary infection massively fuel the cellular reservoir and persist for lengthy periods of time.

OBJECTIVE: Characterization of the early establishment of the viral reservoir in patients acquiring resistant strains at primary HIV-1 infection (PHI), and longitudinal analysis of resistance mutations in circulating virions and intracellular HIV strains. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Drug-resistance was compared between HIV RNA and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)-HIV DNA at the time of PHI in 44 patients enrolled in the Primo Cohort and harbouring plasma HIV-1 resistant to at least one antiretroviral drug. Longitudinal monitoring of viral load and resistance genotype was performed in plasma-HIV RNA and PBMC HIV DNA for at least 24 months in a subset of 10 patients. Phylogenetic analysis of HIV DNA protease gene clones was used to explore the diversity of quasi-species at baseline. RESULTS: Baseline resistance profile was identical in paired HIV RNA and PBMC HIV DNA for all 44 patients. All resistance-associated mutations persisted in plasma and PBMC over 2 years in the five untreated patients. Of the five patients started on empirical HAART, two achieved undetectable HIV RNA at month 6, with long-term persistence of archived drug-resistance mutations in PBMC HIV DNA. Virological failure was observed in the other three patients, resulting in the accumulation of additional drug-resistance mutations in HIV RNA and HIV DNA for two of them. Phylogenetic analysis of HIV DNA clones showed highly homogenous and exclusively resistant quasi-species in the cellular reservoir at baseline. CONCLUSION: HIV resistant strains acquired at the time of PHI massively fuel the cellular reservoir, and their prolonged persistence is supported by the early expansion of a dominant homogenous and resistant viral population. Results in treated patients showed that classical empirical triple-combination may be suboptimal.

CD4 cell count and HIV DNA level are independent predictors of disease progression after primary HIV type 1 infection in untreated patients.

BACKGROUND: Treatment initiation at the time of primary human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 (HIV-1) infection has become less frequent in recent years. METHODS: In the French prospective PRIMO Cohort, in which patients are enrolled at the time of primary HIV-1 infection, 30% of the 552 patients recruited during 1996-2004 did not start receiving antiretroviral treatment during the first 3 months after diagnosis. We analyzed the patients' clinical and immunological outcomes and examined potential predictors of disease progression. Progression was defined as the occurrence of an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related clinical event or a CD4 cell count <350 cells/mm3. RESULTS: Fifty-six (34%) of the untreated patients experienced immunological progression during a median duration of follow-up of 24 months, and 1 of these patients had an AIDS-related event. The estimated risks of progression were 25%, 34%, and 42% at 1, 2, and 3 years after enrollment, respectively. Compared with patients who did not have progression, those with progression had significantly lower CD4 cell counts at diagnosis (455 vs. 738 cells/mm3), higher plasma HIV RNA levels (4.9 vs. 4.5 log10 copies/mL), and higher HIV DNA levels (3.3 vs. 3.0 log(10) copies/10(6) peripheral blood mononuclear cells [PBMCs]). All 3 parameters were significantly associated with progression in univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, only the CD4 cell count and HIV DNA level were independently predictive of disease progression (relative hazard for CD4 cell count, 1.84 per decrease of 100 cells/mm3; relative hazard for HIV DNA level, 2.73 per increase of 1 log(10) copies/10(6) PBMCs). CONCLUSIONS: Both a low initial CD4 cell count and a high HIV DNA level are predictive of rapid progression of untreated primary HIV-1 infection. Affected patients may therefore benefit from close clinical and laboratory monitoring and/or early administration of treatment.

Increase in at-risk sexual behaviour among HIV-1-infected patients followed in the French PRIMO cohort.

OBJECTIVE: With the current increase in sexually transmitted infections in industrialized countries, we assessed the characteristics and plasma viral load of HIV-1-infected patients reporting sexual behaviour at risk for HIV transmission (SBR). DESIGN: The study population consisted of 223 patients with primary HIV-1 infection who were enrolled in the French PRIMO cohort between 1996 and 2001 and who had at least 3 months of follow-up. Patients were interviewed on condom use at each visit according to the partner (gender, steady versus casual nature, and HIV serostatus). SBR was defined as unprotected sex with partners of unknown or negative HIV serostatus. RESULTS: Sixty-one SBR were reported by 43 patients. SBR with casual partners increased from 5.1% in 1998 to 21.1% in 2001-2002, after a fall between 1997 and 1998. Reporting of SBR was more frequent among patients with casual partners, those with asymptomatic or briefly (< or = 15 days) symptomatic primary infection, and those who had developed clinical lipodystrophy or signs of anxiety/depression. Eighty-six per cent of patients reporting SBR had previously initiated highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART); plasma viral load was above the detection limit (200/500 copies/ml) in 41% of visits reporting an SBR. Viral load was similar in patients reporting SBR and other patients, suggesting that the patient's knowledge of his/her response to HAART was not a major determinant of subsequent SBR. CONCLUSION: Our results confirm the recent increase in unsafe sex observed among HIV-infected individuals in industrialized countries. Levels of viral load of these individuals raise concern about the potential for re-emerging HIV epidemics.

Does transient HAART during primary HIV-1 infection lower the virological set-point?

OBJECTIVES: To assess the influence of patient characteristics, treatment precocity (how early) and duration of sustained virological response to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on HIV RNA levels after withdrawal of treatment started during primary infection and to compare HIV RNA levels after HAART withdrawal with levels reached at the same time point during the natural history of infection in the pre-HAART era. DESIGN: HIV RNA was analysed using linear mixed-effects models for 58 patients from the PRIMO cohort (1996-2003) treated during primary infection (with sustained virological responses until HAART interruption) and 116 untreated patients enrolled in the SEROCO cohort within 6 months following infection (1988-1995). Viral loads were estimated in PRIMO patients 36 months after infection (12 months after treatment interruption) and were estimated for the SEROCO patients 36 months after infection, after adjustment for gender and age. RESULTS: HIV RNA levels 12 months after HAART interruption were independently associated with levels at HAART initiation and with the CD4 cell count at HAART interruption, but not with the precocity of HAART or the duration of virological response to HAART. Thirty-six months after infection, mean HIV RNA levels were 3.95 log10 copies/ml 12 months after stopping HAART and 4.11 log10 copies/ml in never-treated patients. CONCLUSION: Viral load 12 months after withdrawal of transient effective HAART started during primary infection is similar to viral load at the same time after infection in never-treated patients, suggesting that early HAART initiation does not lower the virological set-point.

Stable prevalence of genotypic drug resistance mutations but increase in non-B virus among patients with primary HIV-1 infection in France.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the frequency of drug-resistant HIV-1 viral strains from patients presenting with primary infection in 1999-2000 and to survey the molecular epidemiology of these viruses circulating in France. METHODS: Resistance mutations were detected by sequencing the reverse transcriptase and the protease genes in plasma samples from 249 individuals. Phylogenetic analysis was performed on the reverse transcriptase genes. RESULTS: Ten per cent of patients [26/249; 95% confidence interval (CI) 7-15%] presented with virus mutations associated with resistance to at least one antiretroviral drug. The distribution of the resistance mutations was as follows: to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors in 19 (8%; 95% CI 5-12%) and to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors in 10 (4%; 95% CI 2-7%). Primary resistance mutations to protease inhibitors were detected in 14 (6%; 95% CI 3-9%). Twelve patients (5%; 95% CI 3-8%) presented with virus harbouring mutations associated with resistance to two or three classes of antiretroviral drugs. The median HIV RNA in plasma at enrollment was lower in patients with one or more drug resistance mutations than in patients with no mutations (5.05 log versus 5.47 log, P = 0.05). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 19% (14-24%) of patients harboured HIV-1 non-B subtype strains; this proportion remained high when Caucasian patients only were considered (14%). CONCLUSION: This study, performed within the French network on HIV-1 primary infection survey, revealed no change in the frequency of resistant viral strains over time, but showed an increasing prevalence of non-B subtypes overall and among Caucasian individuals.

Recent HIV-1 infection contributes to the viral diffusion over the French territory with a recent increasing frequency.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the contribution of primary human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection (PHI) to the French viral epidemic. METHODS: HIV-1 pol sequences included 987 PHI from the French ANRS PRIMO cohort between 1999 and 2010 and were analysed using a population-based phylogenetic approach. Clinical features, risk factors, sexual behaviour and drug resistance for clustered and nonclustered transmission events were ascertained. RESULTS: Viruses from 125 (12.7%) of PHI cosegregated into 56 transmission chains, with increasing frequency during the last years (10.2% before 2006 versus 15.2% of clusters in 2006-2010, p = 0.02). The mean number of patients per cluster was 2.44. Compared to unique PHI, clusters involved more often men, infected through homosexual intercourse, of young age, with a high number of casual sexual partnerships and frequent previous HIV serological tests. Resistant strains were found in 16.0% and 11.1% of clusters and unique PHI, respectively (p = 0.11). Overall, 34% (n = 9) clusters included patients followed in French regions far apart, involving 13 clusters with at least one Parisian patient. CONCLUSIONS: PHIs are a significant source of onward transmission, especially in the MSM population. Recently infected people contribute to the spread of the viral epidemic throughout the French territory. Survey of transmitted drug resistance and behavioural characteristics of patients involved into clustered PHI may help to guide prevention and treatment interventions.

HIV-1 control after transient antiretroviral treatment initiated in primary infection: role of patient characteristics and effect of therapy.

BACKGROUND: The occurrence of viral control after interruption of an antiretroviral treatment (ART) initiated during primary HIV-1 infection (PHI) is rare and the frequency and predictive factors of such a control are unknown. METHODS: Within the French ANRS PRIMO Cohort, 164 patients interrupted ART initiated during PHI. We compared patients whose viral load (VL) remained undetectable (<50 copies/ml) or low (50-500 copies/ml) 1 year after ART interruption to those who evidenced a rapid viral rebound. RESULTS: After ART interruption, VL remained undetectable for a median time of 4.5 years in 14 patients ('post-ART controllers') and low in another 14 patients for a median time of 1.5 years. Post-ART controllers also maintained higher CD4(+) T-cell counts compared to other patients. Female gender, a high CD4(+) T-cell count and low VL during PHI, and a high CD4(+) T-cell count and low HIV DNA levels at interruption, were associated with post-ART HIV control. Treatment characteristics did not differ between controllers and non-controllers. Post-ART controllers had lower specific CD8(+) T-cell frequencies and CD8(+) T-cell activation on ART and after ART interruption than non-controllers. CONCLUSIONS: Few patients maintain very low VL after interruption of treatment initiated during PHI. Early patient characteristics were the main factors of viral control, although early initiation of ART and the effect of ART on reservoir might contribute to control.

Trends in unsafe sex and influence of viral load among patients followed since primary HIV infection, 2000-2009.

BACKGROUND: In the current context of increasing unsafe sex, HIV incidence may have evolved, depending on HIV prevalence in sexual networks and, among HIV-infected persons who practice unsafe sex, on their infectivity and partners' HIV serostatus. We examined calendar trends in sexual behaviours at risk of HIV-1 transmission (SBR) among 967 adults followed since primary HIV infection (ANRS PRIMO cohort) and relationship with current treatments and viral load. METHODS: Patients completed since 2000 self-administered questionnaires on sexual practices every 6 months. SBR with HIV-negative/unknown partners were analyzed among 155 heterosexual women, 142 heterosexual men and 670 MSM by using logistic generalized estimating equation models (6656 visits). RESULTS: During 2000-2009, the frequency of SBR did not increase significantly among women with steady partners; risk factors were a low education level and alcohol/smoking use. Among heterosexual men with steady partners, the frequency of SBR doubled since 2006; during this period, the only associated factor was combined antiretroviral treatment for at least 6 months or viral load less than 400 copies/ml. Among MSM, SBR increased gradually over time; SBR with steady partners was associated with a low education level and alcohol use. SBR was more frequent among MSM with casual partners; no association with viral load was found. CONCLUSION: In France, recent trends and risk factors in unprotected sex with HIV-negative/unknown partners differ according to sex/sexual preference. The recent increase in SBR among heterosexual men with low viral load may be related to increasing awareness of the 'treatment-as-prevention' concept. The lack of association between SBR and viral load among MSM supports use of treatment-as-prevention as part of diversified prevention strategies.