Frequent Cocaine Use is Associated With Larger HIV Latent Reservoir Size

Cocaine-one of the most frequently abused illicit drugs among persons living with HIV [people living with HIV (PLWH)]-slows the decline of viral production after antiretroviral therapy and is associated with higher HIV viral load, more rapid HIV progression, and increased mortality.

We examined the impact of cocaine use on the CD4+ T-cell HIV latent reservoir (HLR) in virally suppressed PLWH participating in a national, longitudinal cohort study of the natural and treated history of HIV in the United States.

CD4+ T-cell genomic DNA from 434 women of diverse ancestry (ie, 75% Black, 14% Hispanic, 12% White) who self-reported cocaine use (ie, 160 cocaine users, 59 prior users, 215 non-users) was analyzed using the Intact Proviral HIV DNA Assay, measuring intact provirus per 106 CD4+ T cells.

HIV latent reservoir size differed by cocaine use (ie, median [interquartile range]: 72 [14-193] for never users, 165 [63-387] for prior users, 184 [28-502] for current users), which was statistically significantly larger in both prior (P = 0.023) and current (P = 0.001) cocaine users compared with never users.

Cocaine use may contribute to a larger replication competent HLR in CD4+ T cells among virologically suppressed women living with HIV. Our findings are important because women are underrepresented in HIV reservoir studies and in studies of the impact of cocaine use on outcomes among PLWH.