Effect of maraviroc intensification on HIV-1-specific T cell immunity in recently HIV-1-infected individuals.

• Main Authors: Ai Kawana-Tachikawa, Josep M Llibre, Isabel Bravo, Roser Escrig, Beatriz Mothe, Jordi Puig, Maria C Puertas, Javier Martinez-Picado, Julia Blanco, Christian Manzardo, Jose M Miro, Aikichi Iwamoto, Anton L Pozniak, Jose M Gatell, Bonaventura Clotet, Christian Brander, MARAVIBOOST Investigators
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014-01-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3903883?pdf=render

The effect of maraviroc on the maintenance and the function of HIV-1-specific T cell responses remains unknown.Subjects recently infected with HIV-1 were randomized to receive anti-retroviral treatment with or without maraviroc intensification for 48 weeks, and were monitored up to week 60. PBMC and in vitro-expanded T cells were tested for responses to the entire HIV proteome by ELISpot analyses. Intracellular cytokine staining assays were conducted to monitor the (poly)-functionality of HIV-1-specific T cells. Analyses were performed at baseline and week 24 after treatment start, and at week 60 (3 months after maraviroc discontinuation).Maraviroc intensification was associated with a slower decay of virus-specific T cell responses over time compared to the non-intensified regimen in both direct ex-vivo as well as in in-vitro expanded cells. The effector function profiles of virus-specific CD8⁺ T cells were indistinguishable between the two arms and did not change over time between the groups.Maraviroc did not negatively impact any of the measured parameters, but was rather associated with a prolonged maintenance of HIV-1-specific T cell responses. Maraviroc, in addition to its original effect as viral entry inhibitor, may provide an additional benefit on the maintenance of virus-specific T cells which may be especially important for future viral eradication strategies.