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Review
. 2024 Sep 13;5(9):1071-1082.
doi: 10.1016/j.medj.2024.06.008. Epub 2024 Jul 15.

Exceptional, naturally occurring HIV-1 control: Insight into a functional cure

María Salgado  1 , Stephen A Migueles  2 , Xu G Yu  3 , Javier Martinez-Picado  4
Affiliations
Review

Exceptional, naturally occurring HIV-1 control: Insight into a functional cure

María Salgado et al. Med. .

Abstract

Exceptional elite controllers represent an extremely rare group of people with HIV-1 (PWH) who exhibit spontaneous, high-level control of viral replication below the limits of detection in sensitive clinical monitoring assays and without disease progression in the absence of antiretroviral therapy for prolonged periods, frequently exceeding 25 years. Here, we discuss the different cases that have been reported in the scientific literature, their unique genetic, virological, and immunological characteristics, and their relevance as the best model for the functional cure of HIV-1.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
EEC cases in people with HIV (A) Timeline indicating the scientific articles that describe the cases of exceptional elite controllers (EECs) included in this perspective and their geographical origin. (B) Individual cases of EECs including code, time from diagnosis, and gender.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Clinical, virological, and immunological characteristics of EECs in people with HIV, who represent a unique and valuable model for studying a functional cure for HIV. Generated with BioRender
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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