Influence of Age at Virologic Control on Peripheral Blood Human Immunodeficiency Virus Reservoir Size and Serostatus in Perinatally Infected Adolescents

Abstract

Early effective combination antiretroviral therapy with prolonged virologic suppression after perinatal HIV infection leads to negligible peripheral blood proviral reservoirs in adolescence and is associated with negative or indeterminate HIV serostatus. These findings highlight the long-term effect of early effective control of HIV replication on biomarkers of HIV persistence in perinatal infection and the utility of HIV serostatus as a biomarker for small proviral reservoir size, although not necessarily for cure.