This is consistent with other studies demonstrating that CD8+ T cells play a pivotal role in controlling viremia even under conditions of suppressive ART therapy (15). virological effects of PD-1 blockade combined with antiretroviral therapy (ART) in rhesus macaques. Administration of antiCPD-1 antibody 10 days prior to ART initiation rapidly enhanced antiviral CD8+ T cell function and diminished IFN-stimulated genes. This resulted in faster viral suppression in plasma and better Th17 cell reconstitution in the rectal mucosa following ART initiation. PD-1 blockade during ART resulted in lower levels of cell-associated replication-competent Rabbit polyclonal to HSD3B7 computer virus. Following ART interruption, PD-1 antibodyCtreated animals showed markedly higher growth of proliferating CXCR5+perforin+granzyme B+ effector CD8+ T cells and lower regulatory T cells that resulted in better control of viremia. Our results show that PD-1 blockade can be administered safely with ART to augment antiviral CD8+ T cell function and reduce the viral reservoir, leading to improved control of viral rebound after ART interruption. = 6; PD-1 Ab treated, = 5). (E) Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) of RNA-Seq data from blood at day 10 compared with day 0 following PD-1 blockade during phase I (PD-1 Ab treated, = 10). Normalized enrichment scores for select upregulated and downregulated gene sets depicted. Dashed line indicates normalized enrichment score cutoff of greater than 1.35 for upregulated gene sets and less than C1.35 for downregulated gene sets with a false discovery rate of less than 0.2. (F) GSEA plots comparing day 10 (D10) to day 0 (D0) of phase I for PD-1 AbC and saline-treated (= 5) groups. Leading-edge genes from gene sets are shown as black layed out dots. Shaded gray area depicts ART. Unfilled circles indicate values from Mamu-A*01 RMs. Data in B and C are shown as the mean SEM. ** 0.01; *** 0.001 by 2-way ANOVA (B and C) or 2-tailed paired Students test (D). = 10 per group unless otherwise noted. For phase II of the study, our goal was to determine if PD-1 blockade could cause reactivation of the latent viral reservoir and further expand virus-specific CD8+ T cells while animals were under ART in an effort to detect and clear infected cells. In the lymph nodes (LNs), a major site of the persistent viral reservoirs and where low-level replication of SIV may be occurring, exhausted CD8+ T cells may be unable to clear the infected cells and would benefit from the effects of PD-1 blockade. To determine these effects, the 10 RMs given PD-1 Ab during phase I were again treated with PD-1 Ab (double treated) at 26C30 weeks following ART initiation. Three monthly infusions of PD-1 Ab were administered at 10 mg/kg/dose (Physique 1A). To test the influence of PD-1 blockade administered only during suppressive ART, we split the 10 RMs from the saline group into 2 groups and gave 5 RMs PD-1 Ab (single-treated group) and Parbendazole saline to the remaining Parbendazole 5 RMs (saline control group) (Physique 1A). PD-1 blockade administered prior to ART improves T cell function. At day 3 following initiation of PD-1 blockade during Parbendazole phase I, plasma concentrations of the infused EH12 Ab reached 10C50 g/ml that persisted until day 14 and declined by day 28, with one animal developing a measurable anti-EH12 response (Supplemental Physique 3, B and C). We initiated ART in all animals at day 10 after the initiation of PD-1 blockade. Following administration of PD-1 Ab, we observed a significant induction in the proliferation of circulating CD4+ and CD8+ T cells as measured by Ki-67 expression that peaked around day 7 (Physique 1B). Both central Parbendazole memory (CD28+CD95+, Tcm) and effector memory (CD28CCD95+, Tem) CD4+ and CD8+ T cells showed induction of Ki-67 (Supplemental Physique 3D). Additionally, we observed an increase in the frequency of Ki-67Cexpressing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the rectal mucosa of PD-1 AbCtreated RMs (Supplemental Physique.