Modeling HIV-1 Latency Using Primary CD4+T Cells from Virally Suppressed HIV-1-Infected Individuals on Antiretroviral Therapy

Primary cell models of HIV latency have been very useful to identify mechanisms contributing to HIV latency and to evaluate potential HIV cure strategies. However, the current models utilizein vitro infection with exogenous virus that does not fully recapitulate virus reactivation profiles of endogenous HIV inin vivo -infected CD4+ T cells. In contrast, obtaining sufficient amounts of CD4+ T cells from HIV-infected individuals to interrogate the HIV reservoirin vitro requires leukapheresis. In the model we propose here,in vitro expansion and extended culture of primary CD4+ T cells isolated from virally suppressed HIV-infected individuals enable obtaining large numbers of cells harboring endogenous latent HIV reservoirs without performing leukapheresis. This model captures the variability of HIV reservoirs seeded in different individuals and should be useful to evaluate future HIV cure strategies.