Cellular immune responses in AIDS virus controllers

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To elucidate the mechanism for sustained control of HIV replication, this study analyzed vaccinated rhesus macaques that controlled simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) replication for more than 2 years after challenge. Remarkably, half of these SIV controllers had multiple proviral gag and nef mutations at 2 years whereas the remaining half did not. At 1 year, the former group showed broader cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses targeting viral non-Gag/Nef proteins as well as Gag/Nef, whereas Gag- and Nef-specific CTL responses were still dominant in the latter. The latter group represents an extremely stable SIV control by Gag/Nef-specific CTLs, providing a possible mechanism of functional HIV cure by CTLs.