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[Research Article] Sustained virologic control in SIV+ macaques after antiretroviral and α4β7 antibody therapy

ScienceNOW - Fetched: October 13th, 2016, 4:00pm UTC

Antiretroviral drug therapy (ART) effectively suppresses replication of both the immunodeficiency viruses, human (HIV) and simian (SIV); however, virus rebounds soon after ART is withdrawn. SIV-infected monkeys were treated with a 90-day course of ART initiated at 5 weeks post infection followed at 9 weeks post infection by infusions of a primatized monoclonal antibody against the α4β7 integrin administered every 3 weeks until week 32. These animals subsequently maintained low to undetectable viral loads and normal CD4+ T cell counts in plasma and gastrointestinal tissues for more than 9 months, even after all treatment was withdrawn. This combination therapy allows macaques to effectively control viremia and reconstitute their immune systems without a need for further therapy. Authors: Siddappa N. Byrareddy, James Arthos, Claudia Cicala, Francois Villinger, Kristina T. Ortiz, Dawn Little, Neil Sidell, Maureen A. Kane, Jianshi Yu, Jace W. Jones, Philip J. Santangelo, Chiara Zurla, Lyle R. McKinnon, Kelly B. Arnold, Caroline E. Woody, Lutz Walter, Christian Roos, Angela Noll, Donald Van Ryk, Katija Jelicic, Raffaello Cimbro, Sanjeev Gumber, Michelle D. Reid, Volkan Adsay, Praveen K. Amancha, Ann E. Mayne, Tristram G. Parslow, Anthony S. Fauci, Aftab A. Ansari

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