Latently infected, quiescent CD4 T cells represent a central obstacle to eradication of HIV-1. Major hurdles are the low frequencies of latently infected cells in peripheral blood and the lack of known phenotypic markers that can distinguish them from uninfected ones. These impediments have prompted the development of in vitro cell models of latency. Such models allow manipulation of cellular and viral characteristics to gain a mechanistic understanding of how latency is established and regulated. However, no single experimental system of HIV latency is perceived to completely recapitulate the biology of the latent viral reservoir in vivo. This is mainly because (a) the mechanisms for establishment of latency by HIV are multiple;and (b) the types of cells harboring latent infection are also multiple. A wealth of knowledge has been gained regarding how specific stimuli (e.g. activation/differentiation, homeostatic proliferation, cytokines) and viral factors (e.g. integration site, Tat-driven expression) influence the dynamics of latent reservoirs in experimental systems. Project 2.2 will perform """"""""secondary level"""""""" characterization of novel small molecule compounds and combinations of compounds that have been identified to induce HIV transcription through primary screening by Dr. Hazuda's group in Project 2.1.
In Aims 1 and 2, we propose to use a panel of well-characterized primary cell systems and one Jurkat-based cell line clone to validate candidate drug compounds.
A third Aim will be the development of additional primary cell models to enable the study of HIV latency in other relevant cell types, not previously explored ex vivo (e.g. transitional memory T cells and macrophages). Treatments that are active in at least one of the primary culture systems, without showing overt toxicity or induction of cellular activation/proliferation, will be moved to subsequent phases of characterization and development within the Deianey Collaborative program. This will include detailed mechanistic studies (Objective 1), testing for activity in humanized mice and non-human primates (Objective 3) and in patient cells ex vivo (Objective 4). Our ultimate goal is to identify novel drugs and drug combinations that will have a high probability for success in activating HIV latent viruses when applied to treatment strategies in patients.

Public Health Relevance

(

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Program--Cooperative Agreements (U19)
Project #
5U19AI096113-04
Application #
8707346
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAI1)
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2014-07-01
Budget End
2015-06-30
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Chapel Hill
State
NC
Country
United States
Zip Code
White, Cory H; Beliakova-Bethell, Nadejda; Lada, Steven M et al. (2018) Transcriptional Modulation of Human Endogenous Retroviruses in Primary CD4+ T Cells Following Vorinostat Treatment. Front Immunol 9:603
Chaillon, Antoine; Gianella, Sara; Lada, Steven M et al. (2018) Size, Composition, and Evolution of HIV DNA Populations during Early Antiretroviral Therapy and Intensification with Maraviroc. J Virol 92:
Jiang, Guochun; Nguyen, Don; Archin, Nancie M et al. (2018) HIV latency is reversed by ACSS2-driven histone crotonylation. J Clin Invest 128:1190-1198
Dubé, Karine; Dee, Lynda; Evans, David et al. (2018) Perceptions of Equipoise, Risk-Benefit Ratios, and ""Otherwise Healthy Volunteers"" in the Context of Early-Phase HIV Cure Research in the United States: A Qualitative Inquiry. J Empir Res Hum Res Ethics 13:3-17
Prakash, Katya; Gianella, Sara; Dubé, Karine et al. (2018) Willingness to participate in HIV research at the end of life (EOL). PLoS One 13:e0199670
Papasavvas, Emmanouil; Lada, Steven M; Joseph, Jocelin et al. (2018) Analytical ART interruption does not irreversibly change pre-interruption levels of cellular HIV. AIDS :
Honeycutt, Jenna B; Liao, Baolin; Nixon, Christopher C et al. (2018) T cells establish and maintain CNS viral infection in HIV-infected humanized mice. J Clin Invest 128:2862-2876
Power, Jennifer; Westle, Andrew; Dowsett, Gary W et al. (2018) Perceptions of HIV cure research among people living with HIV in Australia. PLoS One 13:e0202647
Marsden, Matthew D; Wu, Xiaomeng; Navab, Sara M et al. (2018) Characterization of designed, synthetically accessible bryostatin analog HIV latency reversing agents. Virology 520:83-93
Beliakova-Bethell, Nadejda; Hezareh, Marjan; Wong, Joseph K et al. (2017) Relative efficacy of T cell stimuli as inducers of productive HIV-1 replication in latently infected CD4 lymphocytes from patients on suppressive cART. Virology 508:127-133

Showing the most recent 10 out of 221 publications