ArticlePloS one2018
Age at antiretroviral therapy initiation and cell-associated HIV-1 DNA levels in HIV-1-infected children.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 43 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
43 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 58 citations in OpenAlex.
- Reservoir differences across HIV-1 subtypes: a systematic review to guide cure research.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Pooled it
- Prevalence and predictors of virological failure in pediatric patients on HAART in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The Pan African medical journal · 2023Pooled it
- VRC01 with antiretroviral initiation in infants is well tolerated, and higher concentrations associate with greater HIV-1 DNA declines.Science translational medicine · 2026Trial
- Predictors of Cell-Associated Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-1 DNA Over 1 Year in Very Early Treated Infants.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2022Trial
- Cell-associated HIV-1 RNA predicts viral rebound and disease progression after discontinuation of temporary early ART.JCI insight · 2020Trial
- Identifying correlates of viral rebound timing and viral control in SHIV-infected infant macaques after ART interruption.Science translational medicine · 2025Article
- Predictive markers for sustained viral suppression on dual bNAbs during ART interruption in children.Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2025Article
- Analytical treatment interruption in children living with HIV: position statement from the EPIICAL consortium.The lancet. HIV · 2024Review
- High mortality following early initiation of antiretroviral therapy in infants living with HIV from three African countries.EClinicalMedicine · 2024Article
- Evaluation of HIV-1 DNA levels among adolescents living with perinatally acquired HIV-1 in Yaounde, Cameroon: A contribution to paediatric HIV cure research in Sub-Saharan Africa.Journal of virus eradication · 2024Article
- Follow-up for 3 years of a pediatric population diagnosed in 2018 with mother-to-child transmission of HIV in 8 Latin American countries in the PLANTAIDS cohort.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Retention in care of infants diagnosed with HIV at birth: Beyond the diagnostic strategy.Southern African journal of infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Article
- HIV-1 reservoir evolution in infants infected with clade C from Mozambique.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2023Article
- Immune activation and exhaustion marker expression on T-cell subsets in ART-treated adolescents and young adults with perinatal HIV-1 infection as correlates of viral persistence.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Article
- HIV cure strategies: which ones are appropriate for Africa?Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2022Review
- Significance of initiating antiretroviral therapy in the early stage of HIV infection.Zhejiang da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Zhejiang University. Medical sciences · 2022Article
- Challenges and Opportunities of Therapies Targeting Early Life Immunity for Pediatric HIV Cure.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Review
- Early Initiation of Antiretroviral Therapy Following In Utero HIV Infection Is Associated With Low Viral Reservoirs but Other Factors Determine Viral Rebound.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2021Article
- Early ART-initiation and longer ART duration reduces HIV-1 proviral DNA levels in children from the CHER trial.AIDS research and therapy · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe latent viral reservoir is the major obstacle to achieving HIV remission and necessitates life-long antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-infected individuals. Studies in adults and children have found that initiating ART soon after infection is associated with a reduction in the size of the HIV-1 reservoir. Here we quantified cell-associated HIV-1 DNA in early-treated but currently older HIV-infected children suppressed on ART.
methodsThe study participants comprised of a cohort of 146 early-treated children with HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/ml enrolled as part of a clinical trial in Johannesburg, South Africa. A stored buffy coat sample collected after a median 4.3 years on ART and where HIV-1 RNA was <50 copies/ml was tested for cell-associated HIV-1 DNA levels. An in-house, semi-nested real-time quantitative hydrolysis probe PCR assay to detect total HIV-1 subtype C proviral DNA was used. Children were followed prospectively for up to 3 years after this measurement to investigate subsequent HIV-1 RNA rebound/failure while remaining on ART. Age at ART initiation, HIV-1 RNA decline prior to HIV-1 DNA measurement and other factors were investigated.
resultsA gradient between age at ART initiation and later HIV-1 DNA levels was observed. When ART was started <2 months of age, the lowest levels of cell-associated HIV-1 DNA (median 1.4 log10copies/106 cells, interquartile range [IQR] 0.95-1.55) were observed compared to ART started at 2-4 months (median 1.68, IQR 1.26-1.97) or 5-14 months of age (median1.98, IQR 1.69-2.25). A low CD4 T-cell count pre-treatment predicted higher levels of HIV-1 DNA on later testing. The probability of HIV-1 RNA rebound >50 copies/ml whilst on ART within 3 years after the DNA measurement was 2.07 (95% CI: 1.352-3.167) times greater if the HIV-1 DNA level was above the median of 55 copies/106 cells.
conclusionsCell-associated HIV-1 DNA levels measured after more than 4 years on ART were lower the younger the age of the child when ART was initiated. This marker of the size of the viral reservoir also predicted subsequent viral rebound/treatment failure while ART was sustained. The results provide additional evidence of the benefits of prompt diagnosis and early ART initiation in newborns and infants.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.