Procaspase 8 inducing drugs decrease total HIV DNA <i>ex vivo</i>.

<p><b>A)</b> Primary CD4 cells from 5 HIV infected, virologically suppressed donors, on cART were obtained via leukapheresis and were primed for 72 hours with the indicated drugs, then reactivated with antiCD3/CD28. <b>B)</b> Cell associated HIV DNA was assessed by qPCR and normalized to DMSO treated control in the leukapheresis samples. Depicted are means (SD). <b>C/D/E)</b> 4 drugs—Flurbiprofen, Doxycycline, Indomethacin, and Bezafibrate—were selected to prime freshly obtained CD4 T cells from 10 HIV-infected patients for 72 h. These cells were then reactivated with antiCD3/CD28 and cell associated HIV DNA was assessed by qPCR. <b>C)</b> Principal component analysis of residual HIV DNA across the samples identified Patients 2, 6 and 9 as outliers. <b>D)</b> Hierarchical clustering of the same data confirmed Patients 2, 6 and 9 as outliers. <b>E)</b> Cell associated HIV DNA was compared between the indicated drugs and DMSO control for the remaining 7 treatment responders.