Citation Information

Wagner TA, Tobin NH, McKernan JL, Xu M, Melvin AJ, Mohan KM, Learn GH, Mullins JI, Frenkel LM (2009). Increased mutations in Env and Pol suggest greater HIV-1 replication in sputum-derived viruses compared with blood-derived viruses. AIDS (London, England), 23(8), 923-8. (pubmed) (doi)

Abstract

Low-level HIV-1 replication may occur during antiretroviral therapy (ART) that suppresses plasma HIV-1 RNA to less than 50 copies/ml (suppressive ART). Antiretroviral drugs appear less effective in macrophages and monocytes compared with lymphocytes, both in vitro and as implied in vivo by greater viral evolution observed during suppressive ART. Our objective was to examine sputum, which is rich in macrophages, for evidence of increased HIV-1 replication compared with that in the blood during suppressive ART.