- Fuller, Trevon;
- Kerin, Tara;
- Cortado, Ruth;
- Benamor Teixeira, Maria de Lourdes;
- Fragoso da Silveira Gouvêa, Maria Isabel;
- Moreira, Christianne;
- Santos Cruz, Maria Leticia;
- Pilotto, José Henrique;
- Gomes, Ivete;
- Santos, Breno;
- Rocha, Tauí;
- Soni, Priya R;
- Joao, Esau;
- Shin-Sim, Myung;
- Bryson, Yvonne;
- Nielsen-Saines, Karin
The extent to which perinatally HIV-infected children, following cART initiation, develop a low proviral reservoir burden over time, as measured by HIV DNA droplet-digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) and the effect on HIV antibody is not well characterized. We measured proviral HIV DNA and plasma RNA virus load (VL) in 37 perinatally HIV-infected children at 6 months of age who initiated stable cART. At 6-11 years of age, HIV proviral DNA, HIV VL (RNA), and HIV antibody by Western Blot (WB) were assessed. CART was initiated before 6 months of age in 13 children and after 6 months in 24. At school age, the HIV DNA levels did not differ by the timing of cART, and the HIV DNA levels were lower in children with negative/indeterminate WB (p = 0.0256). Children with undetectable HIV RNA VL > 50% of the time since cART initiation had lower median DNA VL than children with undetectable VL < 50% of the time (p = 0.07). Long-term viral suppression in perinatally HIV-infected children is associated with a decrease in HIV antibodies and reduced HIV reservoirs.