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After the initial period of HIV infection subsides, a viral set point emerges that reflects the balance between HIV replication and host immune control. In a small group of patients, known as HIV controllers, this set point is so low that CD4-cell decline is almost nonexistent and virologic control is maintained even in the absence of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Although many factors likely combine to facilitate the establishment of HIV control, host immune responses are clearly central to the process.
In the International HIV Controllers Study, researchers conducted an intensive genome-wide association analysis comparing 974 HIV controllers with 2648 HIV progressors to determine the effects of individual amino acids within classical human…