Characterization of drug resistance and the defective HIV reservoir in virally suppressed vertically infected children in Mali.

Background: In the perspective of ART-free HIV remission, vertically infected children treated with suppressive ART from early infancy represent an optimal population model to better understand the genetic complexity of the reservoir.

Objectives: To evaluate the proportion of defective viral population and the genotypic resistance patterns in cell-associated HIV DNA.

Methods: In a cohort including 93 ART-treated vertically HIV-infected (VHIV) children in Mali with plasma HIV-1 RNA ≤50 copies/mL for at least 6 months, we studied total HIV DNA, percentage of defective genomes and resistance by reverse transcriptase and protease bulk sequencing from whole blood in dried blood spots.

Qualitative and quantitative HIV antibodies and viral reservoir size characterization in vertically infected children with virological suppression.

Background: Absence of detectable viraemia after treatment cessation in some vertically HIV-infected (VHIV) children suggests that early initiation of HAART could lead to functional cure.

Objectives: We described the factors associated with HIV antibody levels and the viral reservoir size in HAART-treated VHIV children.

Methods: Study included 97 VHIV children with virological suppression, in Bamako, Mali.