mGem: Innate immune sensing of HIV-1 transcription in myeloid cells-a tale of two transcription start sites.

Abstract

Suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) in people with HIV (PWH) arrests progression to AIDS and onward viral transmission. However, viral transcription from integrated HIV-1 proviruses persists on treatment and is linked to markers of chronic immune activation, contributing to the accelerated development of comorbidities in PWH. Of particular interest are persistent responses in long-lived tissue-resident myeloid cells, which direct tissue-level inflammatory processes through cytokine secretion and interactions with other immune cell populations. Here, we review recent findings on viral nucleic acid sensing events in HIV-infected myeloid cells to shed light on possible mechanisms of persistent inflammation resulting from chronic HIV-1 transcription in myeloid cells in PWH.