Fig. 1: Study schematic and baseline viral measurements.
From: Initial sites of SIV rebound after antiretroviral treatment cessation in rhesus macaques
a, Twenty-four rhesus macaques were intravenously (IV) infected with barcoded SIVmac239M with daily ART (TDF, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate; FTC, 2′,3′-dideoxy-5-fluoro-3′-thiacytidine (emtricitabine); DTG, dolutegravir) beginning at 9 d.p.i. Macaques were necropsied (Nx) either on ART (n = 6), at 5 days after ART (n = 9) or at 7 days after ART (n = 9). b, Blood PVL (assay threshold 15 copies per ml through 36 w.p.i., then 1 copy per ml thereafter; indicated by a dotted grey line) reveals the characteristic SIVmac239 initial viral growth rate (average 1.6, range 1.3–1.8) and on-ART viral first-phase decay rates (0.75, range 0.59–0.91). Bold lines indicate log mean PVL for all macaques. c, Peak PVL plasma samples (12 d.p.i.) were used to identify the number of unique barcodes initiating infection per macaque (median 422, range 111–649). d, vDNA and vRNA were quantified from PBMCs from all 24 study macaques at 12 d.p.i., 21 w.p.i. and 66 w.p.i. and were compared between the three time points (two-sided Wilcoxon signed-rank test; with P values indicated). e, Both vDNA and vRNA from biopsy tissues taken from all 24 macaques at 12 d.p.i., 21 w.p.i. and 66 w.p.i. (pLN, mLN, spleen, bone marrow (BM), duodenum (Duo), rectum and liver) showed typical declines over time. f, After 72 w.p.i., 18 macaques were released from ART with daily PVLs obtained, and the detectable rebounding barcode lineages (BCs) identified; 7 of 18 macaques were viraemic (≥5 copies per ml) at the time of necropsy (2 of 9 from animals necropsied 5 days off-ART and 5 of 9 from animals necropsied 7 days off-ART). There was a total of 27 barcodes detectable in blood at necropsy (mean 3.86; range 2–9).
