Decrease of HIV-1 RNA levels in lymphoid tissue and peripheral blood during treatment with ritonavir, lamivudine and zidovudine

Objectives: Triple combination treatment of HIV-1 infection using two reverse transcriptase inhibitors and a protease inhibitor can result in significant and sustained decreases in the quantity of viral RNA in peripheral blood. Lymphoid tissue, however, constitutes the major reservoir of HIV in infected patients. Study of the viral burden in these tissues has provided additional insight in the efficacy of antiretroviral treatment. Design: Patients were randomized into two groups in order to study differences in the development of resistance to reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Group I started treatment with all three drugs simultaneously. Group II started with ritonavir monotherapy, aiming at initial reduction in virus production before the addition of lamivudine and zidovudine 3 weeks later. Methods: Changes in the amount of HIV in plasma and tonsillar lymphoid tissue during 24 weeks of treatment with ritonavir, lamivudine and zidovudine were studied by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Results: Thirty-three antiretroviral-naive HIV-infected patients were included for analysis. After 24 weeks, median CD4+ cell count increased by 152 x 10⁶/l and median plasma viral RNA levels decreased by at least 2.87 log₁₀ copies/ml. In 88% of the patients remaining on treatment, plasma RNA levels were below the quantification limit of the assay used (mean, 2.4 log₁₀ copies/ml). The lymphoid tissue viral burden, ranging from 9.16 to 8.52 log₁₀ copies/g at baseline, was markedly reduced with at least 2.1 log₁₀ copies/g by week 24 in the five patients analysed. Eight patients (24%) withdrew because of side-effects. In one patient in group II, ritonavir and lamivudine resistance-associated mutations developed. Conclusions: Treatment with this triple antiretroviral drug combination produced a durable and strong decrease of HIV-1 RNA burden in both plasma and lymphoid tissue.