TY - JOUR
T1 - Short-Course Toll-Like Receptor 9 Agonist Treatment Impacts Innate Immunity and Plasma Viremia in Individuals With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection
AU - Vibholm, Line
AU - Schleimann, Mariane H
AU - Højen, Jesper F
AU - Benfield, Thomas
AU - Offersen, Rasmus
AU - Dige, Anders
AU - Agnholt, Jørgen
AU - Grau, Judith
AU - Buzon, Maria
AU - Wittig, Burghardt
AU - Lichterfeld, Mathias
AU - Petersen, Andreas Munk
AU - Deng, Xutao
AU - Abdel-Mohsen, Mohamed
AU - Pillai, Satish K
AU - Rutsaert, Sofie
AU - Trypsteen, Wim
AU - De Spiegelaere, Ward
AU - Vandekerchove, Linos
AU - Østergaard, Lars
AU - Denton, Paul W
AU - Tolstrup, Martin
AU - Søgaard, Ole S
N1 - © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: [email protected].
PY - 2017/6/15
Y1 - 2017/6/15
N2 - Background.: Treatment with latency reversing agents (LRAs) enhances human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) transcription in vivo but leads to only modest reductions in the size of the reservoir, possibly due to insufficient immune-mediated elimination of infected cells. We hypothesized that a single drug molecule-a novel Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonist, MGN1703-could function as an enhancer of innate immunity and an LRA in vivo.Methods.: We conducted a single-arm, open-label study in which 15 virologically suppressed HIV-1-infected individuals on antiretroviral therapy received 60 mg MGN1703 subcutaneously twice weekly for 4 weeks. We characterized plasmacytoid dendritic cell, natural killer (NK), and T-cell activation using flow cytometry on baseline and after 4 weeks of treatment. HIV-1 transcription was quantified by measuring plasma HIV-1 RNA during MGN1703 administration.Results.: In accordance with the cell type-specific expression of TLR9, MGN1703 treatment led to pronounced activation of plasmacytoid dendritic cells and substantial increases in plasma interferon-α2 levels (P < .0001). Consistently, transcription of interferon-stimulated genes (eg, OAS1, ISG15, Mx1; each P < .0001) were upregulated in CD4+ T cells as demonstrated by RNA sequencing. Further, proportions of activated cytotoxic NK cells and CD8+ T cells increased significantly during MGN1703 dosing, suggesting an enhancement of cellular immune responses. In 6 of 15 participants, plasma HIV-1 RNA increased from <20 copies/mL to >1500 copies/mL (range, 21-1571 copies/mL) during treatment.Conclusions.: TLR9 agonist treatment in HIV infection has a dual potential by increasing HIV-1 transcription and enhancing cytotoxic NK cell activation, both of which are key outcomes in HIV-1 eradication therapy.Clinical Trials Registration.: NCT02443935.
AB - Background.: Treatment with latency reversing agents (LRAs) enhances human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) transcription in vivo but leads to only modest reductions in the size of the reservoir, possibly due to insufficient immune-mediated elimination of infected cells. We hypothesized that a single drug molecule-a novel Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonist, MGN1703-could function as an enhancer of innate immunity and an LRA in vivo.Methods.: We conducted a single-arm, open-label study in which 15 virologically suppressed HIV-1-infected individuals on antiretroviral therapy received 60 mg MGN1703 subcutaneously twice weekly for 4 weeks. We characterized plasmacytoid dendritic cell, natural killer (NK), and T-cell activation using flow cytometry on baseline and after 4 weeks of treatment. HIV-1 transcription was quantified by measuring plasma HIV-1 RNA during MGN1703 administration.Results.: In accordance with the cell type-specific expression of TLR9, MGN1703 treatment led to pronounced activation of plasmacytoid dendritic cells and substantial increases in plasma interferon-α2 levels (P < .0001). Consistently, transcription of interferon-stimulated genes (eg, OAS1, ISG15, Mx1; each P < .0001) were upregulated in CD4+ T cells as demonstrated by RNA sequencing. Further, proportions of activated cytotoxic NK cells and CD8+ T cells increased significantly during MGN1703 dosing, suggesting an enhancement of cellular immune responses. In 6 of 15 participants, plasma HIV-1 RNA increased from <20 copies/mL to >1500 copies/mL (range, 21-1571 copies/mL) during treatment.Conclusions.: TLR9 agonist treatment in HIV infection has a dual potential by increasing HIV-1 transcription and enhancing cytotoxic NK cell activation, both of which are key outcomes in HIV-1 eradication therapy.Clinical Trials Registration.: NCT02443935.
KW - 2',5'-Oligoadenylate Synthetase/genetics
KW - Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active
KW - CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/drug effects
KW - Cytokines/genetics
KW - DNA/administration & dosage
KW - Dendritic Cells/drug effects
KW - Female
KW - HIV Infections/drug therapy
KW - HIV-1/drug effects
KW - Humans
KW - Immunity, Innate/drug effects
KW - Interferon-alpha/blood
KW - Killer Cells, Natural/drug effects
KW - Lymphocyte Activation/drug effects
KW - Male
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Myxovirus Resistance Proteins/genetics
KW - RNA, Viral/adverse effects
KW - Toll-Like Receptor 9/agonists
KW - Ubiquitins/genetics
KW - Viremia/blood
KW - Virus Latency/drug effects
U2 - 10.1093/cid/cix201
DO - 10.1093/cid/cix201
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 28329286
SN - 1058-4838
VL - 64
SP - 1686
EP - 1695
JO - Clinical Infectious Diseases
JF - Clinical Infectious Diseases
IS - 12
ER -