Diversity and Tropism of HIV-1 Rebound Virus Populations in Plasma Level after Treatment Discontinuation

Abstract

Human immunodeficiency virus-infected people discontinuing therapy experience a rebound in the virus level (hereafter, "rebound virus") from a persistent reservoir. We examined 10 samples from patients in AIDS Clinical Trials Group study A5068 with rebound virus, using single-genome amplification and Primer ID deep sequencing, to assess env genetic diversity of the virus population. Most rebound-virus populations showed significant diversity. All env examined required high levels of CD4 for entry, consistent with selection of replication in CD4+ T cells. These results indicate that most people discontinuing therapy release a diverse population of virus and that this released virus has entry features of virus selected for replication in CD4+ T cells, rather than in myeloid cells.