Effects of highly active anti-retroviral therapy on the viral reservoir in prostate tissue of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients / 中华传染病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the status of viral reservoirs in prostate tissue of patients with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), and to investigate the effect of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) on HIV-1 DNA in prostate tissue of HIV/AIDS patients.Methods:Twelve patients with HIV infection and hyperplasia of prostate who required surgical treatment and admitted to Guangzhou Eighth People′s Hospital from July 2017 to October 2019 were included. Blood and prostate specimens of these patients were collected, and HIV-1 RNA in plasma, CD4 + T lymphocyte count in peripheral blood and HIV-1 DNA level in prostate tissue were tested respectively. The independent sample t test or Mann-Whitney U test was used for statistical analysis. Results:Among the 12 patients, the CD4 + T lymphocytes was (519.8±121.5)/μL and HIV-1 DNA in the prostate tissue was 2 602 (365, 10 700) copies/10 6cells in six patients who had not started HAART. The CD4 + T lymphocytes was (182.8±69.7)/μL and the HIV-1 DNA in the prostate tissue was 144 (36, 563) copies/10 6cells in the six patients who underwent HAART for over six months. There were statistically significant differences in CD4 + T lymphocytes and HIV-1 DNA in the prostate tissue between the two groups ( t=-5.889 and Z=-2.082, respectively, both P<0.05). Conclusion:Prostate tissue can be used as an HIV-1 virus repository with or without HAART, and the size of the prostate tissue virus repository can be reduced by HAART after immune reconstitution.