Resistance Profile to Antiretroviral Medications in Individuals Living With HIV Who Failed a First-Line Regimen With Tenofovir / Lamivudina and Dolutegravir in Brasil

In November 2018, 170,000 individuals were receiving Dolutegravir through the public health system. It is a public health priority to evaluate the risk of virological failure and the subsequent development of resistance to integrase inhibitors in our setting. It has recently been shown that, in addition to resistance mutations in the integrase region of the pol gene, mutations in the 3'-PPT region (nef gene) also emerge and contribute to decreased susceptibility to Dolutegravir. The objectives of this work are to investigate the influence of transmitted antiretroviral resistance, the profile of HIV subtypes, and immunological and virological characteristics among individuals who failed first-line treatment with Tenofovir/Lamivudine and Dolutegravir (TL+D) after 24 weeks of treatment in Brazil. The investigators also seek to determine the genotypic resistance profile among individuals who failed the first-line TL+D regimen after 24 weeks of treatment in Brazil. To determine what alterations in the 3'-PPT are observed in viruses from patients failing TL+D and to assess if this new resistance pathway contributes to acquired resistance to the drug in clinical practice.

This is a nested case-control prospective study comparing in a 2:1 ratio the baseline HIV-1 genotypic profile of individuals with virological failure on the TL+D regimen after 24 weeks of treatment (cases) to randomly selected individuals with viral control with viral load below the detection limits of 50 copies/mL, 24 weeks after treatment initiation (controls).

HYPOTHESIS: The central hypothesis is that transmitted drug resistance (TDR) may be associated with and contribute to virological failure with dolutegravir (DTG) in clinical practice. To test this central hypothesis, we will identify DTG-containing regimens with failure in people living with HIV in Brazil, a model country for large-scale DTG implementation, where multiple HIV subtypes cocirculate.

PRIMARY RESEARCH OBJECTIVE:

• Investigate the influence of transmitted drug resistance, the profile of HIV subtypes, and immunological and virological characteristics among individuals who failed the first-line TL+D regimen after 24 weeks of treatment in Brazil.
• Determine the genotypic resistance profile among individuals who failed first-line TL+D after 24 weeks of treatment in Brazil.
• Determine what alterations in the 3'-PPT are observed in viruses from patients failing TL+D and assess if this new resistance pathway contributes to acquired drug resistance in clinical practice.

RISK AND BENEFIT ASSESSMENT:

RISKS: The risks associated with this study include discomfort at the needle puncture site for blood draws or the possible appearance of a bruise. Discomfort or occasional bruising occur with the same frequency as any blood draw for exams that a patient is already accustomed to.

BENEFITS: Patients will receive no direct benefit from participation in this study. The resistance tests performed may eventually help in selecting more effective antiretroviral drugs if treatment is not fully effective in controlling the HIV in the body. There will be no financial costs or compensation for participation in this study.

Inclusion criteria

Age between 18 and 70 ART therapy naive

Exclusion criteria

Resistant to reverse transcriptase inhibitor drugs (NRTI)