The use of HIV-1 integration site analysis information in clinical studies aiming at HIV cure

The mechanisms for the establishment and the persistence of the latent HIV-1 reservoir remain to be completely defined. HIV-1 infection is characterised by the integration of the reverse transcribed proviral DNA into the host's genome. This integrated proviral DNA can remain replication silent, but a small part of it is fully competent to restart viral replication when treatment is interrupted. Hence, this replication-competent provirus is the cause of viral rebound and is called the viral reservoir. The exact site of proviral integration within the host` s cellular chromosome may affect the transcriptional activity of HIV. Thanks to recent technological advances, HIV-1 integration site analysis has been used to assess HIV-1 reservoirs in HIV-infected individuals. Analysis of HIV-1 integration sites in infected individuals undergoing suppressive ART led to identification of expanded clonal cell populations, indicating that clonal proliferation of the proviral reservoir may contribute to the long-term persistence of viral reservoirs. Here we describe the findings of several clinical studies, where a comprehensive HIV-1 integration site analysis was performed