# Inhibiting the proliferation of the long-lived memory CD4+ T-cells by targeting Wnt and Notch pathways to disrupt HIV reservoir

> **NIH NIH R21** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $234,000

## Abstract

SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The key obstacle to cure HIV infection is a reservoir of latently-infected memory CD4+ T-cells that persist despite
long-term ART and cause a rebound of viremia if therapy is interrupted. This cellular reservoir has been shown
to include mostly central memory, transitional memory, and stem cell memory CD4+ T-cells. Several studies have
suggested that homeostatic proliferation of latently-infected memory CD4+ T-cells plays a key role in maintaining
the overall size of the reservoir. Collectively, these data suggest that long-lived memory CD4+ T-cells with
enhanced self-renewal capacity such as the CD4+ TSCM and TCM represent a major obstacle to HIV eradication
and that clinical interventions aimed at curing HIV should be designed to specifically target the proliferation of
these cell populations.
In our lab, we recently evaluated a strategy to target the self-renewal capacity of memory CD4+ T-cells through
the pharmacological inhibition of the Wnt signaling pathway in SIV-infected, ART-suppressed macaques. Wnt
inhibition with PRI-724 induced TSCM and TCM differentiation as evidenced by the cell gene expression profiles
following treatment. Furthermore, a decline in SIV DNA levels following PRI-724 treatment was observed in the
lymph nodes (LN) TCM and TFH CD4+ T-cells. Here, we propose to target simultaneously the two main signaling
pathways regulating memory T-cell proliferation during the critical period of reservoir establishment. We
hypothesize that combined inhibition of the Wnt and Notch signaling pathways during acute SIV infection will
block the self-renewal of long-lived memory CD4+ T-cells thus altering the stability of the viral reservoir over time.
This hypothesis will be addressed by the experiments in the following Specific Aims: Aim 1. To establish a robust
regimen of Wnt and Notch inhibitors to maximize the blockade of CD4+ TSCM and TCM self-renewal in healthy
macaques. Aim 2. To assess in vivo the effect of Wnt and Notch combined inhibition during acute SIV infection
on viral reservoir establishment in macaques.
The proposed studies build upon an appreciation of the immunologic complexity of the CD4+ T-cell reservoir.
This conceptually innovative work will provide critical new information on the biology of HIV/SIV persistence in
memory CD4+ T-cells. The results of this project may lead to a translational research program focusing on novel
CD4+ TSCM- and TCM-specific strategies for HIV eradication with the potential to significantly impact HIV treatment
and cure approaches.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9970418
- **Project number:** 5R21AI145650-02
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Maud Mavigner
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $234,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-05 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9970418

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9970418, Inhibiting the proliferation of the long-lived memory CD4+ T-cells by targeting Wnt and Notch pathways to disrupt HIV reservoir (5R21AI145650-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9970418. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*