Unlocking the complexity of HIV and Mycobacterium tuberculosis coinfection

HIV and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) coinfection increases the risk of active tuberculosis (aTB), but how HIV infection and medications contribute to drive risk remains unknown. In this issue of the JCI, Correa-Macedo and Fava et al. investigated alveolar macrophages (AMs) from people living with HIV (PLWH). To mimic the earliest event in tuberculosis (TB), the authors isolated AMs from broncheoalveolar lavage (BAL) of PLWH, healthy individuals, and healthy individuals taking antitretroviral therapy (ART) as preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV acquisition. These AMs were exposed to M. tuberculosis and epigenetic configuration, transcriptional responses, and cytokine production were assessed. M. tuberculosis-stimulated AMs from PLWH and from healthy individuals on PrEP showed blunted responses compared with healthy controls. While HIV infection is the major risk factor for TB, these findings suggest that ART may modulate AM responses and potentially contribute to residual risk of aTB in fully treated HIV.