The Use of Leukapheresis to Support HIV Pathogenesis Studies
- Conditions
- HIV
- Interventions
- Procedure: Leukapheresis
- Registration Number
- NCT01161199
- Lead Sponsor
- University of California, San Francisco
- Brief Summary
Despite the dramatic improvements that have resulted from combination antiretroviral treatment, long-term efficacy, toxicity, cost, and the requirements for life-long adherence remain as formidable challenges. Also, there is emerging consensus that persistent HIV-associated disease occurs during long-term highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). This disease may be due to either direct drug-toxicity and/or persistent viral replication/production and/or persistent HIV-associated inflammation. Hence, strategies aimed at achieving complete viral eradication may be needed in order to fully restore health among HIV infected individuals. Even if complete eradication proves impossible-as most believe to be the case-a less rigorous but still desirable outcome might be achieving durable control of virus in the absence of therapy. That a "functional" cure is possible is well illustrated by those rare individuals who are able to durably control replication competent virus in the absence of therapy ("elite" controllers).
A more complete understanding of the relationship between inflammation and viral persistence is necessary before more rationale studies of HIV eradication can be designed. Also, a well validated high through-put virologic assay needs to be developed that can estimate the size of the latent reservoir. Since the level of replication competent virus in long-term treated patients (and in elite controllers) is very small (\< 1% of CD4 cells harbor HIV), large numbers of CD4+ T cells most be obtained from study participants in order to routinely isolate and quantify virus persistence.
- Detailed Description
Not available
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- RECRUITING
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 100
- HIV seropositive
- Able to give informed consent
- Willing to undergo blood sampling and/or leukapheresis
- Meeting one of the following criteria: (1) on stable highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) with a recent undetectable viral load (< 50 copies/mL) ("HAART suppressed"), (2) antiretroviral untreated with an undetectable viral load (< 50 copies/mL) ("elite" controllers) and (3) antiretroviral untreated with a detectable viral load (> 1000 copies/mL) ("non-controllers")
- Known anemia (HIV+ males Hct<34; females Hct<32) or contraindication to donating blood
- Blood coagulation disorder (including bleeding tendency or problems in past with blood clots)
- Platelets < 50,000/mm3
- PTT > 2x ULN
- INR > 1.5
- Albumin < 2.0 g/dL
- ALT > 5x ULN
- AST > 5x ULN
- Biopsy-proven or clinical diagnosis of cirrhosis
- Weight <120 lb
- High blood pressure > 160/100
- Low blood pressure < 100/70
- Pregnant
Study & Design
- Study Type
- OBSERVATIONAL
- Study Design
- Not specified
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Elite controllers Leukapheresis - HAART-suppressed Leukapheresis - Untreated non-controllers Leukapheresis -
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method HIV DNA and RNA Baseline and 6-12 months
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
San Francisco General Hospital
🇺🇸San Francisco, California, United States