Project

The rare patients who spontaneously control HIV replication in the absence of therapy show signs of a particularly efficient T cell response. We aim at characterizing the molecular determinants underlying this efficient antiviral response. We have previously shown that CD4+ T cells from HIV controllers express T cell receptors (TCRs) of particularly high affinity for Gag peptides/ MHC II complexes. Furthermore, HIV controllers shared Gag-specific TCR clonotypes at higher frequencies than treated patients, suggesting the implication of particular TCRs in HIV control. To extend these studies, we propose to characterize the TCR repertoire and the transcriptional pattern of HIV-specific CD4+ T cells at the single cell level. We will compare HIV-specific CD4+ T cells obtained from HIV controllers included in the ANRS CO21 CODEX cohort to those from patients receiving antiretroviral therapy.