Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41754496›Full record

ReviewViruses2026

Potential Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein on HIV-1 Reservoir in People Living with HIV.

Maurizio Federico

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Viruses, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author.

Maurizio FedericoNational Center for Global Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-4154-1025

Funding

Ministry of Health, Italy RIP-1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

People living with HIV-1 (PLWH) are part of the so-called "fragile" populations to which COVID-19 vaccines were/are strongly recommended. The fact that most widely used COVID-19 vaccines rely on the production of a biologically active SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein expressed by synthetic mRNA poses the relevant question of whether and how this vaccination influences the fate of the HIV-1 reservoir. This report presents a detailed analysis of the literature data on the effects of SARS-CoV-2 Spike and COVID-19 vaccines on HIV-1 latently infected cells. Despite being limited in number, the experimental evidences consistently indicate that vaccine mRNA and/or SARS-CoV-2 Spike can effectively reactivate latent HIV-1. This conclusion has been drawn after "in vitro", "ex vivo", and "in vivo" assays, and with virus-associated Spike, soluble Spike, or its intracellular expression, as well as with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. On the other hand, real-world observations on vaccinated PLWH under antiretroviral therapy (ART) provided evidence of HIV-1 reactivation almost exclusively in PLWH with unsuppressed viremia, as measured in terms of size of the HIV-1 reservoir. Although several issues still need to be clarified through urgent additional investigations, these data suggest the possibility that the Spike protein and/or the vaccine mRNA molecules affect the HIV-1 latency in PLWH.

Indexed as

COVID-19COVID-19 VaccinesHIV-1HIV InfectionsSARS-CoV-2Spike Glycoprotein, CoronavirusHumansVirus ActivationVirus LatencyCOVID-19 VaccinesSpike Glycoprotein, Coronavirusspike protein, SARS-CoV-2HIV-1 reservoirmRNA COVID-19 vaccinespeople living with HIVSARS-CoV-2 Spike

Identifiers

PMID41754496
PMCPMC12945278

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.