HIV-1

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and pharmacokinetics (PK) of the potent, broadly neutralizing anti-HIV monoclonal antibodies (mAb) PGT121.414.LS alone and in combination with VRC07-523LS soon after birth in infants exposed to HIV-1.

Combination therapy with antiretroviral medication (ART) has proven effective in keeping HIV suppressed and restoring the immune system, but it cannot cure the infection. Therefore, lifelong treatment is necessary. The reason for this is a reservoir of inactive virus that remains hidden in long-lived cells and cannot be eliminated by either HIV treatment or the immune system. This reservoir is the primary barrier to a cure for HIV and must be minimized or eliminated in order to make it possible to discontinue lifelong ART treatment. Several studies have been conducted with the aim of reducing the reservoir of inactive virus. The drugs used have been able to activate the virus in resting infected cells, thereby making the virus visible to the immune system. Unfortunately, this type of experimental treatment has not been sufficient to reduce the reservoir of inactive HIV in long-lived cells, possibly because these cells do not undergo cell death to a sufficient degree due to specific alterations in the mechanisms of cell death signaling. The drug venetoclax (Venclyxto) is an inhibitor of BCL-2 (B Cell Lymphoma-2), a key factor involved in the regulation of programmed cell death. Studies have shown increased BCL-2 activity in long-lived cells infected with HIV. In laboratory experiments, we have demonstrated that treating cells with venetoclax while simultaneously activating HIV can lead to the elimination of HIV-infected cells. In experiments with HIV-infected humanized mice receiving ART, we further found that treatment with venetoclax delayed viral rebound after interruption of ART compared with mice that were not treated with venetoclax. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether treatment with venetoclax in people with HIV who are initiating HIV therapy can promote the death of latently infected cells and thereby lead to a reduction in the latent HIV reservoir. The study will examine the safety and the effect of venetoclax.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) causes a persistent infection that ultimately leads to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Treatment of HIV-1 infection with combination anti-retroviral therapy (ART) suppresses HIV-1 replication to undetectable viral levels and saves lives. Nevertheless, ART cannot eradicate latent cellular reservoirs of the virus, and HIV-1 infection remains a life-long battle. Adoptive cellular immunotherapy using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) engineered T cells directed against HIV-1 envelope subunit protein gp120 (HIVCAR T cells) may provide a safe and effective way to eliminate HIV-infected cells. However, the number of HIV-infected cells is low in participants under ART, and CAR T cells disappear if they are not stimulated by their target antigens. Interestingly, about 95% of HIV-1-infected individuals are CMV-seropositive and CMV-specific T cells have been shown to persist. To overcome the CAR T cells low persistence issue, we propose to make HIV-CAR T cells using autologous cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific T cells, which can be stimulated by endogenous CMV in vivo. The overall hypothesis of this first-in-human Phase 1, open-label, single-arm study is that endogenous immune signals to CMV-specific T cells can maintain the presence of autologous bispecific CMV/HIV-CAR T cells in healthy people living with HIV-1 (PLWH), and achieve long-term remission in the presence of ART.

This single-arm, open label study is aimed to assess efficacy and safety of dolutegravir plus lamivudine as a switch strategy among TGW with HIV receiving suppresive antiretroviral therapy.

In France, French citizens with an annual income less than 10339 euros are considered living with low-income and are eligible to benefit from a public universal healthcare insurance coverage called C2S (complémentaire santé solidaire). C2S covers primary care and hospital care. Non-citizens with low income, like some migrants, can also benefit from a public healthcare insurance coverage called AME ("Aide Medicale d'Etat" for State Medical Aid). These criteria are used as a marker of precarity settings (i.e., socio-economic vulnerability) in France. In France, HIV-related care and treatments are reimbursed at 100% (ALD30), whatever the level of precariousness. ART adherence has been shown significantly lower in PLWH with C2S health insurance coverage. Although BIC/FTC/TAF is a recommended preferred option in naive PLWH and in switch or maintenance therapy in most settings, due to the forgiveness profile and the high genetic barrier to resistance, boosted darunavir (DRV/r) remains even more widely used than 2nd generation InSTIs in populations in precarity settings, and Real World Effectiveness (RWE) with BIC/FTC/TAF is missing to better support its use in these settings. Paris Bichat Hospital (located in one of the poorest districts in the Ile-de-France region) and Nantes university hospital (West France region) follow a cohort of PLWH with a high proportion of populations in precarity settings (i.e with C2S and AME health insurance coverage): Paris Bichat hospital: N=5143 PLWH (December 2021), sex ratio F/M 37/56%, Transgender Women 7%, and born in sub-Saharan African countries 49%. Nantes university hospital: N=2227 PLWH (December 2021), sex ratio F/M 35/65% and born in sub-Saharan African countries 33%. In this cohort of 7370 PLWH in both sites 50% are receiving an InSTI-based ART regimen, regardless of prior treatment history, and at least 40% are receiving care through the C2S or AME, respectively.

We propose to demonstrate that HIV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 are capable of targeting long-lived HSPC with self-renewal capacities. These progenitors, thus transformed into host cells, can give rise to a durable source of infected cells with an impact on hematopoiesis.