Distinct lipid profile, low-level inflammation, and increased antioxidant defense signature in HIV-1 elite control status
Maike Sperk,
Flora Mikaeloff,
Sara Svensson-Akusjärvi,
Shuba Krishnan,
Sivasankaran Munusamy Ponnan,
Anoop T. Ambikan,
Piotr Nowak,
Anders Sönnerborg,
Ujjwal Neogi
Affiliations
Maike Sperk
Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institute, ANA Futura, Campus Flemingsberg, Stockholm 14152, Sweden; Corresponding author
Flora Mikaeloff
Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institute, ANA Futura, Campus Flemingsberg, Stockholm 14152, Sweden
Sara Svensson-Akusjärvi
Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institute, ANA Futura, Campus Flemingsberg, Stockholm 14152, Sweden
Shuba Krishnan
Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institute, ANA Futura, Campus Flemingsberg, Stockholm 14152, Sweden
Sivasankaran Munusamy Ponnan
Centre for Infectious Disease Research, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), CV Raman Avenue, Bangalore, Karnataka 560012, India
Anoop T. Ambikan
Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institute, ANA Futura, Campus Flemingsberg, Stockholm 14152, Sweden
Piotr Nowak
Department of Medicine Huddinge, Division of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska Institute, I73, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Stockholm 141 86, Sweden
Anders Sönnerborg
Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institute, ANA Futura, Campus Flemingsberg, Stockholm 14152, Sweden; Department of Medicine Huddinge, Division of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska Institute, I73, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Stockholm 141 86, Sweden
Ujjwal Neogi
Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institute, ANA Futura, Campus Flemingsberg, Stockholm 14152, Sweden; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA; Corresponding author
Summary: HIV-1 elite controllers (EC) are a rare but heterogeneous group of HIV-1-infected individuals who can suppress viral replication in the absence of antiretroviral therapy. The mechanisms of how EC achieve undetectable viral loads remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate host plasma metabolomics and targeted plasma proteomics in a Swedish HIV-1 cohort including EC and treatment-naïve viremic progressors (VP) as well as HIV-negative individuals (HC) to get insights into EC phenotype. Metabolites belonging to antioxidant defense had higher levels in EC relative to VP, whereas inflammation markers were increased in VP compared with EC. Only four plasma proteins (CCL4, CCL7, CCL20, and NOS3) were increased in EC compared with HC, and CCL20/CCR6 axis can play an essential role in EC status. Our study suggests that low-level inflammation and oxidative stress at physiological levels could be important factors contributing to elite control phenotype.
