Early ART reduces viral seeding and innate immunity in liver and lungs of SIV-infected macaques

Identifying immune cells and anatomical tissues that contribute to the establishment of viral reservoirs is of central importance in HIV-1 cure research. Herein, we used rhesus macaques (RMs) infected with SIVmac251 to analyze viral seeding in the liver and lungs of either untreated or early antiretroviral therapy–treated (ART-treated) RMs. Consistent with viral replication and sensing, transcriptomic analyses showed higher levels of inflammation, pyroptosis, and chemokine genes as well as of interferon-stimulating gene (ISG) transcripts, in the absence of ART. Our results highlighted the infiltration of monocyte-derived macrophages (HLA-DR(+)CD11b(+)CD14(+)CD16(+)) in inflamed liver and lung tissues associated with the expression of CD183 and CX3CR1 but also with markers of tissue-resident macrophages (CD206(+) and LYVE(+)). Sorting of myeloid cell subsets demonstrated that CD14(+)CD206(–), CD14(+)CD206(+), and CD14(–)CD206(+) cell populations were infected, in the liver and lungs, in SIVmac251-infected RMs. Of importance, early ART drastically reduced viral seeding consistent with the absence of ISG detection but also of genes related to inflammation and tissue damage. Viral DNA was only detected in CD206(+)HLA-DR(+)CD11b(+) cells in ART-treated RMs. The observation of pulmonary and hepatic viral rebound after ART interruption reinforces the importance of early ART implementation to limit viral seeding and inflammatory reactions.