Impact of Delaying Antiretroviral Treatment during Primary HIV Infection on Telomere Length

Telomere length (TL) shortens during aging, HIV-seroconversion and untreated chronic HIV infection. It is unknown whether early antiretroviral therapy (ART) start is associated with less TL shortening during primary HIV infection (PHI). We measured TL in peripheral blood mononuclear cells by quantit...

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Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 2021-04
Main Authors: Raffenberg, Marieke, Engel, Tanja, Schoepf, Isabella C, Kootstra, Neeltje A, Reiss, Peter, Braun, Dominique L, Thorball, Christian W, Fellay, Jacques, Kouyos, Roger D, Ledergerber, Bruno, Günthard, Huldrych F, Tarr, Philip E
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Language:English
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Summary:Telomere length (TL) shortens during aging, HIV-seroconversion and untreated chronic HIV infection. It is unknown whether early antiretroviral therapy (ART) start is associated with less TL shortening during primary HIV infection (PHI). We measured TL in peripheral blood mononuclear cells by quantitative PCR in participants of the Zurich PHI Study with samples available for >6 years. We obtained uni-/multivariable estimates from mixed-effects models and evaluated the association of delaying ART start or interrupting ART with baseline and longitudinal TL. In 105 participants with PHI (median age 36 years, 9% women), median ART delay was 25, 42, and 60 days, respectively, in the 1 st (shortest), 2 nd, and 3 rd (longest) ART delay tertile. First ART delay tertile was associated with longer baseline TL (p for trend=0.034), and longer TL over 6 years, but only with continuous ART (p12 months (p=0.408). In multivariable analysis, participants in the 2 nd and 3 rd ART delay tertile had 17.6% (5.4-29.7%; p=0.004) and 21.5% (9.4-33.5%; p
ISSN:1537-6613