title: HIV Trafficking Between Blood and Semen During Early Untreated HIV Infection.
abstract: Understanding the dynamics of HIV across anatomic compartments is important to design effective eradication strategies. In this study, we evaluated viral trafficking between blood and semen during primary HIV infection in 6 antiretroviral-naive men who have sex with men.
  
  
  
  Deep sequencing data of HIV env were generated from longitudinal blood plasma, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and seminal plasma samples. The presence or absence of viral compartmentalization was assessed using tree-based Slatkin-Maddison and distance-based Fst methods. Phylogeographic analyses were performed using a discrete Bayesian asymmetric approach of diffusion with Markov jump count estimation to evaluate the gene flow between blood and semen during primary HIV infection. Levels of DNA from human herpesviruses and selected inflammatory cytokines were also measured on genital secretions collected at baseline to evaluate potential correlates of increased viral migration between anatomic compartments.
  
  
  
  We detected varying degrees of compartmentalization in all 6 individuals evaluated. None of them maintained viral compartmentalization between blood and seminal plasma throughout the analyzed time points. Phylogeographic analyses revealed that the HIV population circulating in blood plasma populated the seminal compartment during the earliest stages of infection. In our limited data set, we found no association between local inflammation or herpesvirus shedding at baseline and viral trafficking between semen and blood.
  
  
  
  The early spread of virus from blood plasma to genital tract and the complex viral interplay between these compartments suggest that viral eradication efforts will require monitoring viral subpopulations in anatomic sites and viral trafficking during the course of infection.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA; †Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA; ‡National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD; and §National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chaillon
authors.forename: Davey M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vanpouille
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lisco
authors.forename: Parris
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jordan
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Caballero
authors.forename: Milenka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vargas
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gianella
authors.forename: Sanjay R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Mehta
mesh_terms: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001769:Blood / Q000821:virology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D005838:Genotype; D006678:HIV / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology*; D006564:Herpesviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D012661:Semen / Q000821:virology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D019562:Viral Load; D054299:env Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D016207:Cytokines; D054299:env Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus