A widely distributed HIV-1 provirus elimination assay to evaluate latency-reversing agents in vitro

Persistence of HIV-1 latent reservoir cells during antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a major obstacle for curing HIV-1. Even though latency-reversing agents (LRAs) are under development to reactivate and eradicate latently infected cells, there are few useful models for evaluating LRA activity in vitro. Here, we establish a long-term cell culture system called the “widely distributed intact provirus elimination” (WIPE) assay. It harbors thousands of different HIV-1-infected cell clones with a wide distribution of HIV-1 provirus similar to that observed in vivo. Mathematical modeling and experimental results from this in vitro infection model demonstrates that the addition of an LRA to ART shows a latency-reversing effect and contributes to the eradication of replication-competent HIV-1. The WIPE assay can be used to optimize therapeutics against HIV-1 latency and investigate mechanistic insights into the clonal selection of heterogeneous HIV-1-infected cells.