While no longer the cause of opportunistic infections in the current era of ART, the need to continuously suppress CMV in an asymptomatic state throughout life is very costly to the immune system. Almost all persons living with HIV-1 are also co-infected with CMV. Thus, true comparative studies that examine the contribution of this common virus to mechanisms of HIV pathogenesis and persistence are difficult. Our group utilizes a specialized colony of rhesus macaques, termed expanded-pathogen free animals, who are persistently negative for CMV throughout life. With these animals, we are able to probe fundamental questions regarding HIV/CMV co-infection such as: What are the ways (both antigen dependent and independent) that CMV shapes the immune system? How does the SIV reservoir evolve over time in the presence or absence of CMV? At what point in acute SIV infection do CMV-specific cells become infected with SIV? Can blockade of CMV with FDA-approved antivirals lower levels of SIV DNA in the body? The goal of this project is to understand how CMV intersects with HIV and ways to target the virus.
