Tongcui Ma, Ashley F. George, Zichong Li, Reuben Thomas, Kailin Yin, Min‐Gyoung Shin, Mauricio Montaño, Yusuke Matsui, Manickam Ashokkumar, Kyrlia C. Young, Julia Prigann, Julie Frouard, Sabrina M. Leddy, Maisha Adiba, Christina Herrde, Ulrike C. Lange, Cédric Feschotte, Douglas F. Nixon, Edward P. Browne, Nancie M. Archin, Jonathan Z. Li, Davey Smith, Steven Deeks, Ole S. Søgaard, Martin Tolstrup, Sulggi Lee, Satish K. Pillai, Mohamed Abdel-Mohsen, Katherine S. Pollard, Robert Siliciano, Melanie Ott, Warner C. Greene, Nadia R. Roan
Immunological mechanisms regulating HIV rebound after antiretroviral therapy (ART) interruption remain unclear. We examined relationships between host factors, HIV reservoir, and HIV time-to-rebound after analytical treatment interruption (ATI) by characterizing pre-ATI peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 75 ART-suppressed people with HIV (PWH) using high-parameter methods. Across interventional (CLEAR, TEACH, and REDUC) and non-interventional (A5345) cohorts, delayed rebound was not associated with intact HIV. Cohort-specific immune effectors were associated with delayed rebound. RNA sequencing of CD4 + T cells from A5345 revealed that the mTOR inhibitor DDIT4 and zinc finger protein ZNF254 were associated with delayed rebound. In vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that DDIT4 and ZNF254 suppressed HIV expression. Metformin induced DDIT4 and suppressed HIV expression in primary cells and cells from ART-suppressed PWH, suggesting that this affordable diabetes drug could be repurposed to silence HIV. Our results support the pursuit of both immune- and HIV-silencing strategies to achieve ART-free HIV remission.