-
Views
-
Cite
Cite
Sara Gianella, Davey M. Smith, Milenka V. Vargas, Susan J. Little, Douglas D. Richman, Eric S. Daar, Michael P. Dube, Fan Zhang, Christina C. Ginocchio, Richard H. Haubrich, Sheldon R. Morris, the CCTG 592 Team, Shedding of HIV and Human Herpesviruses in the Semen of Effectively Treated HIV-1–Infected Men Who Have Sex With Men, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 57, Issue 3, 1 August 2013, Pages 441–447, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/cit252
Close - Share Icon Share
Abstract
Background. Current antiretroviral therapy (ART) suppresses human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in blood to undetectable levels in most infected individuals; however, some men shed HIV in semen despite suppressed levels in blood.
Methods. This study included 114 chronically HIV type 1–infected men who have sex with men, who were receiving ART with blood plasma HIV <500 copies/mL. Asymptomatic participants were screened for bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and nonspecific genital inflammation. Levels of HIV and 7 human herpesviruses were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction in seminal plasma. Predictors of HIV seminal shedding were determined for the entire cohort, and on the subset of 100 subjects with blood plasma HIV <50 copies/mL.
Results. Eleven subjects (9.6%) had detectable levels of seminal HIV (median, 2.1 log10 copies/mL), and 72 (63.2%) had at least 1 herpesvirus detected in their seminal plasma. Detectable levels of seminal HIV were present more often in persons with plasma HIV between 50 and 500 copies/mL compared to those <50 copies/mL (P values adjusted for false discovery rate [FDR] = 0.08). There was a trend for high-level cytomegalovirus (CMV; >4 log10 DNA copies/mL; FDR-adjusted P = .08), and presence of Epstein-Barr virus (FDR-adjusted P = .06) in semen to be associated with detectable seminal HIV levels. In a subanalysis of 100 subjects with blood plasma HIV <50 copies/mL, high levels of CMV in semen was the only significant predictor for seminal HIV shedding.
Conclusions. Low-level HIV replication in blood and high-level seminal CMV shedding, but not presence of asymptomatic STIs, is associated with seminal shedding of HIV in men receiving ART, conferring a potential risk for HIV transmission.
Comments