Abstract
Hyperimmune activation is a strong predictor of disease progression during pathogenic immunodeficiency virus infections and is mediated in part by sustained type I IFN signaling in response to adventitious microbial infection. The immune inhibitory receptor programmed death–1 (PD-1) regulates functional exhaustion of virus-specific CD8+ T cells during chronic infections, and in vivo PD-1 blockade has been shown to improve viral control of SIV. Here, we show that PD-1 blockade during chronic SIV infection markedly reduced the expression of transcripts associated with type I IFN signaling in the blood and colorectal tissue of rhesus macaques (RMs). The effect of PD-1 blockade on type I IFN signaling was durable and persisted even under conditions of high viremia. Reduced type I IFN signaling was associated with enhanced expression of some of the junction-associated genes in colorectal tissue and with a profound decrease in plasma LPS levels, suggesting a possible repair of gut-associated junctions and decreased microbial translocation into the blood. PD-1 blockade enhanced immunity to gut-resident pathogenic bacteria, control of gut-associated opportunistic infections, and survival of SIV-infected RMs. Our results suggest PD-1 blockade as a potential novel therapeutic approach to enhance combination antiretroviral therapy by suppressing hyperimmune activation in HIV-infected individuals.
Authors
Ravi Dyavar Shetty, Vijayakumar Velu, Kehmia Titanji, Steven E. Bosinger, Gordon J. Freeman, Guido Silvestri, Rama Rao Amara
Figure 2
PD-1 blockade enhances gut junction–associated gene expression and reduces microbial translocation in SIV-infected RMs.
Copyright © 2025 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)