P15.08
Background: HIV latency is viewed as one of the important reasons why eradication of infection has been elusive thus far. Studies on how the virus affects immune system cells during its active and latent phases could provide targets for drug development as well as a means to monitor the progress and status of infection. Since the implementation of ‘omics’ studies, whole cells/systems/pathways have been elucidated by the use of high throughput analytical tools like nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS).
Methods: In this study metabonomics analysis of U1 cells (a promonocytic HIV-1 latency and chronic infection model) was used to investigate and compare HIV-1 latency to active infection. The uninfected parent cell line (U937) served as a necessary control. Metabolites from these cells were extracted and analysed by NMR.
Results: Six important metabolites were detected; these metabolites were identified using relevant databases and found to be lactate, lipid, diethylthiophosphate, methylsuccinate, choline and methylacetoacetic acid. Changes in the peak height of lactate peak between the different viral phases presents as a possible marker of infection status.
Conclusions: Lactate, is a product of glucose metabolism which is already known to be influenced by active HIV-1 infection. Data presented here suggests that even in latency the virus appears to have an effect on glucose metabolism.
