HIV-1 DNA decay dynamics in blood during more than a decade of suppressive antiretroviral therapy

Abstract

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) DNA dynamics during long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART) are not defined. Methods.Blood mononuclear cells obtained during 7-12 years of effective ART were assayed for total HIV-1 DNA and 2-long terminal repeat (LTR) circles by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Slopes of HIV-1 DNA were estimated by participant-specific linear regressions. Plasma was assayed for residual viremia (HIV-1 RNA) by qPCR. Results.Thirty participants were studied. HIV-1 DNA decreased significantly from years 0-1 and 1-4 of ART with median decay slopes of-0.86 (interquartile range,-1.05,-0.59) and-0.11 (-0.17,-0.06) log10(copies/106 CD4+ T-cells)/year, respectively (P