Rapid Selection of HIV-2 Capsid Mutations in Salvage Therapy with Lenacapavir-Containing Regimen.

Lenacapavir is the first capsid inhibitor, its use is currently approved for multidrug resistant HIV-1 infection. We report that, despite an initial efficacy of a LEN-containing regimen in patients with multi-drug resistant HIV-2 viruses, virological suppression was not achieved after a year and most patients selected capsid drug-resistance associated mutations.

Real-world data on long-acting intramuscular maintenance therapy with cabotegravir and rilpivirine mirror Phase 3 results.

Introduction: Cabotegravir, an integrase strand transfer inhibitor, and rilpivirine, an NNRTI, constitute the first long-acting (LA), injectable, two-drug ART regimen approved for the maintenance of virological suppression in persons living with HIV-1 (PLHIV). The aim of this study was to assess clinical effectiveness and tolerability of LA cabotegravir/rilpivirine in a real-world setting.

Patients And Methods: We conducted a retrospective, single centre study, including all PLHIV receiving LA cabotegravir/rilpivirine as standard-of-care in our tertiary centre even if initiated in clinical trials.

Immuno-virological and Clinical Follow-up of Persons Living With HIV-2 (PWHIV-2) Receiving Bictegravir/Emtricitabine/Tenofovir Alafenamide Fumarate (BIC/FTC/TAF): A Retrospective Study.

This retrospective study evaluated Bictegravir/FTC/TAF in 24 PWHIV, 5 naive and 19 pretreated. After a median follow-up of 37.5 months, all PWHIV-2 had a plasma viral load < 40 copies/mL.

Pharmaco-virological outcomes and genotypic resistance profiles among children and adolescents receiving a DTG-based regimen in Togo.

Background: Few data are available on the real-world efficacy of receiving tenofovir-lamivudine-dolutegravir (DTG) as HIV treatment, particularly among young people in West Africa. Here, we evaluated pharmaco-virological outcomes and resistance profiles among Togolese children and adolescents.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Lomé, Togo, enrolling antiretroviral-treated people with HIV aged from 18 months to 24 years.

Salvage Therapy Including Foscarnet and Ibalizumab for Multidrug-Resistant Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 2 Infection.

We evaluated Ibalizumab (IBA)-containing standardized optimized salvage regimen (with or without a 4-week foscarnet induction) in individuals harboring multidrug-resistant human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2). Nine were included; 2 achieved virological suppression after foscarnet induction with a sustained suppression at Week 24 after IBA initiation, and an additional individual at Week 24 after Ibalizumab initiation.

Are Confirmatory Assays Reliable for HIV-1/HIV-2 Infection Differentiation? A Multicenter Study.

Immunoblots remain the gold standard for HIV-1/HIV-2 infection confirmation. However, their ability to differentiate HIV-1 from HIV-2 infection on an antigenically diversified HIV-1 and HIV-2 panel remain uncommon. We performed a multicenter study on 116 serum samples accounting for most of the diversity of HIV-1 (9 different subtypes in group M, 17 circulating recombinant forms (CRFs), and 3 group O) and HIV-2 (groups A and B), evaluating seven confirmatory assays (six commercially available assays and one in-house assay) with genotyping as the reference.

Future of Antiretroviral Drugs and Evolution of HIV-1 Drug Resistance.

Highly active antiretroviral (ARV) therapy has been used for many years, but the use in low- and middle-income countries of antiretroviral drugs with low genetic barrier to resistance, combined with limited availability of viral load testing, has led to higher rates of acquired drug resistance, sustaining the rate of transmitted drug resistance. Here, we describe the evolution of ARV drugs with the ongoing development of injectable long-acting forms and the requirements regarding all new ARV drugs (i.e.

Ibalizumab shows in-vitro activity against group A and group B HIV-2 clinical isolates.

Objective: Treatment of multidrug-resistant HIV-2 is an emerging issue, because of the rapid selection of mutations at time of virological failure and the low number of antiretrovirals active on HIV-2. The aim of this study was to determine the susceptibility of HIV-2 primary isolates to ibalizumab, a long-acting monoclonal antibody that binds to CD4 that is approved for the treatment of MDR HIV-1.

Methods: In-vitro phenotypic susceptibility of 16 HIV-2 primary isolates was measured using a modified version of the ANRS peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) assay.

Nosocomial transmission clusters and lineage diversity characterized by SARS-CoV-2 genomes from two large hospitals in Paris, France, in 2020.

France went through three deadly epidemic waves due to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), causing major public health and socioeconomic issues. We proposed to study the course of the pandemic along 2020 from the outlook of two major Parisian hospitals earliest involved in the fight against COVID-19. Genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis were performed on samples from patients and health care workers (HCWs) from Bichat (BCB) and Pitié-Salpêtrière (PSL) hospitals.

In vitro analysis of the replicative capacity and phenotypic susceptibility to integrase inhibitors of HIV-2 mutants with integrase insertions.

Background: HIV-2 resistance to integrase strand-transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) is characterized by two main pathways: (i) mutations at codons 143, 148 and155; and (ii) amino acid insertion after integrase codon 231 (231ins).

Objectives: To complete INSTI resistance data on HIV-2 by determining the viral replicative capacity and INSTI phenotypic susceptibility of integrase mutants obtained through site-directed mutagenesis.

Methods: Site-directed mutants (SDMs) were constructed and viral stocks produced.

Lymphoma in HIV-2-infected patients in combination antiretroviral therapy era.

Objective: To describe lymphoma in HIV-2-infected patients and compare their characteristics with lymphoma in HIV-1-infected patients.

Design: Ancillary analysis from a single center prospective cohort of HIV-lymphoma.

Methods: We report on 16 patients with HIV-2-lymphoma diagnosed after 1996 and included in a prospective cohort of HIV lymphoma.

Performance of 30 commercial SARS-CoV-2 serology assays in testing symptomatic COVID-19 patients.

We report evaluation of 30 assays' (17 rapid tests (RDTs) and 13 automated/manual ELISA/CLIA assay (IAs)) clinical performances with 2594 sera collected from symptomatic patients with positive SARS-CoV-2 rRT-PCR on a respiratory sample, and 1996 pre-epidemic serum samples expected to be negative. Only 4 RDT and 3 IAs fitted both specificity (> 98%) and sensitivity (> 90%) criteria according to French recommendations. Serology may offer valuable information during COVID-19 pandemic, but inconsistent performances observed among the 30 commercial assays evaluated, which underlines the importance of independent evaluation before clinical implementation.

Evaluation of three extraction-free SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR assays: A feasible alternative approach with low technical requirements.

The worldwide demand for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing resulted in a shortage of diagnostic kits. RNA extraction step constitutes a major bottleneck to perform diagnostic. The aim of this study was to assess performances of different extraction-free SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR assays compared to a reference RT-PCR assay.

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 N-antigen in blood during acute COVID-19 provides a sensitive new marker and new testing alternatives.

Objectives: Molecular assays on nasopharyngeal swabs remain the cornerstone of COVID-19 diagnostic. The high technicalities of nasopharyngeal sampling and molecular assays, as well as scarce resources of reagents, limit our testing capabilities. Several strategies failed, to date, to fully alleviate this testing process (e.

Performance evaluation of two SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM rapid tests (Covid-Presto and NG-Test) and one IgG automated immunoassay (Abbott).

The aim of this study was to assess the analytical performances, sensitivity and specificity, of two rapid tests (Covid- Presto® test rapid Covid-19 IgG/IgM and NG-Test® IgM-IgG COVID-19) and one automated immunoassay (Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG) for detecting anti- SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. This study was performed with: (i) a positive panel constituted of 88 SARS-CoV-2 specimens collected from patients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR, and (ii) a negative panel of 120 serum samples, all collected before November 2019, including 64 samples with a cross-reactivity panel. Sensitivity of Covid-Presto® test for IgM and IgG was 78.

SARS-CoV-2 IGM and IGG rapid serologic test for the diagnosis of COVID-19 in the emergency department.

• RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2′s diagnostic has many false negatives and long turnaround times. • In our study 20% of RT-PCR negative patients had a rapid Sars-CoV2 IgG/IgM positive. • Rapid SARS-CoV2 IgG/IgM may be used as a complementary assay to the RT-PCR.

Genetic Variability of Long Terminal Repeat Region between HIV-2 Groups Impacts Transcriptional Activity.

The HIV-2 long terminal repeat (LTR) region contains several transcription factor (TF) binding sites. Efficient LTR transactivation by cellular TF and viral proteins is crucial for HIV-2 reactivation and viral production. Proviral LTRs from 66 antiretroviral-naive HIV-2-infected patients included in the French ANRS HIV-2 CO5 Cohort were sequenced.

[Physiopathology of HIV-2 infection].

The HIV-2 virus is not widely spread worldwide, with only one to three million infected people, mainly in West Africa. HIV-2 is responsible for an attenuated infection compared to HIV-1. Thus, HIV-2 infection is characterized by low and frequently undetectable viral loads and a slower course to AIDS.