Constant mitochondrial DNA levels in blood leukocytes of patients enrolled in a NRTI-free therapeutic trial (BIKS-2 study).
OBJECTIVE
Determine if a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI)-free regimen affected mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients enrolled in BIKS-2 trial.


METHODS
Antiretroviral (ARV) naïve (N=13) and NRTI experienced (N=7) patients, received lopinavir/ritonavir, a boosted protease inhibitor, and efavirenz, a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor from Month (M) 0 to M12 (1-year BIKS trial) and from M12 to M36 (2-year BIKS-2 trial). MtDNA was quantified at M12, M24 and M36 via real-time PCR assay.


RESULTS
From M12 to M36, the 20 patients have maintained undetectable plasma HIV-1 RNA, gained CD4 cells and had no side effects attributable to these drugs. Median mtDNA contents were constant: 478.6 at M12, 478.6 at M24 and 324.4 copies/cell at M36 (pM12-M36=0.5). Because M0 data is missing, these results were compared to those of two groups of age matched individuals: healthy donors and HIV-infected patients before and after exposure to NRTIs. Healthy donors have higher contents (871), followed by patients never treated (602), than by BIKS patients where 7 had toxic NRTIs (478.6) and at last by patients exposed for six months to the most toxic combination (ddI-d4T) (85 copies/cell).


CONCLUSIONS
Lopinavir/ritonavir+efavirenz did not affect mtDNA contents in PBMCs.
Amellal
B
B
Laboratoire de Virologie, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France. bahia.amellal@psl.ap-hop-paris.fr <bahia.amellal@psl.ap-hop-paris.fr>
Allavena
C
C
André-Garnier
E
E
Ferré
V
V
Valantin
M A
MA
Delfraissy
J F
JF
Lafeuillade
A
A
Bonmarchand
M
M
Calvez
V
V
Raffi
F
F
D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000097:blood*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019562:Viral Load
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors