About

Associate Professor and Head of the Viral Reservoirs and Immune Control Unit at Institut Pasteur (Paris). His research focuses on understanding (i) the mechanisms underlying the control of HIV infection in natural HIV controllers and post-treatment controllers in remission of HIV infection after interruption of antiretroviral treatment; and (ii) the factors associated with the establishment of HIV reservoirs and devising new approaches to tackle them. He specializes in the studies of the role of intrinsic and adaptive immunity and the impact of viral reservoirs in different models of spontaneous or induced control of viremia in the absence of antiretroviral therapy.

Position
Researcher
Institution
Institut Pasteur

Linked Projects

Funded Research Project

Title: Viral dynamics of rebound and control following early treatment of HIV/SIV (NIH)

The results of the ANRS EP47 VISCONTI (Viro-Immunological Sustained COntrol after Treatment Interruption) study provided proof of concept that a state of sustainable HIV remission may be induced in at least some people with HIV: the post-treatment controllers (PTC). Unlike natural controllers, PTCs presented a symptomatic primary HIV-1 infection with high viral load and low… Continue reading Viral dynamics of rebound and control following early treatment of HIV/SIV (NIH)

Country
France
Starting year
2017
Duration
5 years
Budget
1.1M$
Members/PIs involved
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Funded Research Project

Title: A Non-Human Primate Model For HIV Remission (pVISCONTI)

The VISCONTI study proposed that post-treatment control (PTC) of HIV infection might be favored by early antiretroviral treatment (ART) initiation. However, a formal demonstration has not been established and the underlying mechanisms leading to PTC remain elusive. The pVISCONTI program aims to assess, in standardized conditions, the impact of early versus late ART initiation on… Continue reading A Non-Human Primate Model For HIV Remission (pVISCONTI)

Country
France
Starting year
2016
Duration
7 years
Budget
5.2M€
Members/PIs involved
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Funded Research Project

Title: Heterogeneity of mechanisms responsible for HIV-1 gene silencing, WP1

Despite current effective and life-prolonging combination antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV 1 can still not be cured and remission is not attainable for most persons. Indeed, the virus persists in people receiving ART and can produce active infection upon treatment interruption due notably to reactivation of viral expression from latently-infected cells, called HIV reservoirs. HIV-1 transcriptional… Continue reading Heterogeneity of mechanisms responsible for HIV-1 gene silencing, WP1

Country
France
Starting year
2022
Duration
3 years
Budget
1.1M€
Members/PIs involved
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Clinical Trial

Title: ANRS 175 RHIVIERA 01_Assessment of HIV remission upon ART interruption in early treated individuals from ANRS CO6 PRIMO cohort carrying the MHC genotype B35(53)Bw4TTC2

Early ART initiation seems to favor post-treatment control of infection. However, only a minority of the individuals who are treated early is able to control viremia once the treatment is interrupted. Through retrospective analyses of data available in the ANRS CO6 PRIMO cohort and the Post-treatment controllers in the ANRS VISCONTI study, we have identified… Continue reading ANRS 175 RHIVIERA 01_Assessment of HIV remission upon ART interruption in early treated individuals from ANRS CO6 PRIMO cohort carrying the MHC genotype B35(53)Bw4TTC2

Country
France
Starting year
2022
Duration
2 years
Members/PIs involved
Read more
Clinical Trial

Title: ANRS 176 RHIVIERA 02_Assessment of HIV remission upon ART interruption in individuals initiating ART in combination with two long lasting bNabs during primary infection

ART initiation during primary HIV infection limits the establishment, diversity and distribution of the viral reservoir while preserving key lymphoid organs of the deleterious effects of persistent viral replication and chronic immune activation, favoring the optimal maturation of immune responses. Early ART initiation may even facilitate long-term post-treatment control in some individuals. Therapeutic interventions during… Continue reading ANRS 176 RHIVIERA 02_Assessment of HIV remission upon ART interruption in individuals initiating ART in combination with two long lasting bNabs during primary infection

Country
France, USA
Starting year
2022
Duration
Members/PIs involved
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Linked Publications

Anti-V1/V3-glycan broadly HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies in a post-treatment controller

Molinos-Albert LM, Baquero E, Bouvin-Pley M, Lorin V, Charre C, Planchais C, Dimitrov JD, Monceaux V, Vos M, Hocqueloux L, Berger J-L, Seaman MS, Braibant M, Avettand-Fenoël V, Sáez-Cirión A, Mouquet H

Cell Host Microbe. 2023 Aug 9;31(8):1275-1287.e8

In-Depth Characterization of Full-Length Archived Viral Genomes after Nine Years of Posttreatment HIV Control

Trémeaux P, Lemoine F, Mélard A, Gousset M, Boufassa F, Orr S, Monceaux V, Gascuel O, Lambotte O, Hocqueloux L, Saez-Cirion A, Rouzioux C, Avettand-Fenoel V.

Microbiol Spectr. 2023 Jan 24:e0326722.

Prolonged Antiretroviral Treatment Induces Adipose Tissue Remodelling Associated with Mild Inflammation in SIV-Infected Macaques.

Mausoléo A, Olivo A, Desjardins D, Sáez-Cirión A, Barrail-Tran A, Avettand-Fenoel V, Noël N, Lagathu C, Béréziat V, Le Grand R, Lambotte O, Bourgeois C.

Cells. 2022 Oct 2;11(19):3104. 

Novel role of UHRF1 in the epigenetic repression of the latent HIV-1

Verdikt V, Bendoumou M, Bouchat S, Nestola L, Pasternak AO, Darcis G, Avettand-Fenoeld V, Vanhulle C, Aït-Ammar A, Santangelo M. Plant E, LeDouce V, Delacourt N, Cicilionytė A, Necsoi C, Corazza F, Passaes CPB, Schwartz C, Bizet M, Fuks F, Sáez-Cirión A, Rouzioux C, De Wit S, Berkhout B, Gautier V, Rohr O, Van Lint C

eBioMedicine 2022, Volume 79, 1039852022

Transient viral exposure drives functionally-coordinated humoral immune responses in HIV-1 post-treatment controllers

Molinos-Albert LM, Lorin V, Monceaux V, Orr S, Essat A, Dufloo J, Schwartz O, Rouzioux C, Meyer L, Hocqueloux L, Sáez-Cirión A, Mouquet H & ANRS VISCONTI Study Group

Nature Communications Vol 13 : 1944 (2022)

Immunometabolism and HIV-1 pathogenesis: food for thought.

Sáez-Cirión A, Sereti I (2021). Nat Rev Immunol., 21(1):5-19. doi: 10.1038/s41577-020-0381-7.

Extremely low viral reservoir in treated chronically HIV-1-infected individuals

Gálvez C, Urrea V, Dalmau J, Jimenez M, Clotet B, Monceaux V, Huot N, Leal L, González-Soler V, González-Cao M, Müller-Trutwin M, Sáez-Cirión A, García F, Blanco J, Martinez-Picado J, Salgado M. EBioMedicine. 2020 Jul;57:102830. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2020.102830. PMID: 32580136 

Antiapoptotic Clone 11-Derived Peptides Induce In Vitro Death of CD4+ T Cells Susceptible to HIV-1 Infection

Mikhailova A, Valle-Casuso JC, David A, Monceaux V, Volant S, Passaes C, Elfidha A, Müller-Trutwin M, Poyet JL, Sáez-Cirión A. J Virol. 2020 Jul 1;94(14):e00611-20. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00611-20. PMID: 32350074 

SIV-induced terminally differentiated adaptive NK cells in lymph nodes associated with enhanced MHC-E restricted activity

Huot N, Rascle P, Petitdemange C, Contreras V, Stürzel CM, Baquero E, Harper JL, Passaes C, Legendre R, Varet H, Madec Y, Sauermann U, Stahl-Hennig C, Nattermann J, Saez-Cirion A, Le Grand R, Keith Reeves R, Paiardini M, Kirchhoff F, Jacquelin B, Müller-Trutwin M. Nat Commun. 2021 Feb 24;12(1):1282. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-21402-1.PMID: 33627642

Role of NKG2a/c+ CD8 + T cells in pathogenic versus non-pathogenic SIV infections

Huot N, Rascle P, Tchitchek N, Wimmer B, Passaes C, Contreras V, Desjardins D, Stahl-Hennig C, Le Grand R, Saez-Cirion A, Jacquelin B, Müller-Trutwin M. iScience. 2021 Mar 15;24(4):102314. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102314. PMID: 33870131

Ultrasensitive Detection of p24 in Plasma Samples from People with Primary and Chronic HIV-1 Infection

Passaes C, Delagreverie HM, Avettand-Fenoel V, David A, Monceaux V, Essat A, Müller-Trutwin M, Duffy D, De Castro N, Wittkop L, Rouzioux C, Molina JM, Meyer L, Delaugerre C, Sáez-Cirión A. J Virol. 2021 Jun 24;95(14):e0001621. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00016-21. PMID: 33952636 

Expansion of Immature Neutrophils During SIV Infection Is Associated With Their Capacity to Modulate T-Cell Function

Lemaitre J, Desjardins D, Gallouët AS, Gomez-Pacheco M, Bourgeois C, Favier B, Sáez-Cirión A, Le Grand R, Lambotte O. Front Immunol. 2022 Feb 3;13:781356. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.781356. PMID: 35185880 

CD32+CD4+ T Cells Sharing B Cell Properties Increase With Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Replication in Lymphoid Tissues

Huot N, Rascle P, Planchais C, Contreras V, Passaes C, Le Grand R, Beignon AS, Kornobis E, Legendre R, Varet H, Saez-Cirion A, Mouquet H, Jacquelin B, Müller-Trutwin M. Front Immunol. 2021 Jun 16;12:695148. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.695148. PMID: 34220857 

Optimal Maturation of the SIV-Specific CD8 + T Cell Response after Primary Infection Is Associated with Natural Control of SIV: ANRS SIC Study

Passaes C, Millet A, Madelain V, Monceaux V, David A, Versmisse P, Sylla N, Gostick E, Llewellyn-Lacey S, Price DA, Blancher A, Dereuddre-Bosquet N, Desjardins D, Pancino G, Le Grand R, Lambotte O, Müller-Trutwin M, Rouzioux C, Guedj J, Avettand-Fenoel V, Vaslin B, Sáez-Cirión A. Cell Rep. 2020 Sep 22;32(12):108174. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108174. PMID: 32966788.

Modeling SIV kinetics supports that cytotoxic response drives natural control and unravels heterogeneous populations of infected cells

V. Madelain, C. Passaes, A. Millet, V. Avettand-Fenoel, R. Djidjou-Demasse, N. Dereuddre-Bosquet, R. Le Grand, C. Rouzioux, B. Vaslin, A. Saez-Cirion, J. Guedj. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.19.911594

Metabolic plasticity of HIV-specific CD8 + T cells is associated with enhanced antiviral potential and natural control of HIV-1 infection

Angin M, Volant S, Passaes C, Lecuroux C, Monceaux V, Dillies MA, Valle-Casuso JC, Pancino G, Vaslin B, Le Grand R, Weiss L, Goujard C, Meyer L, Boufassa F, Müller-Trutwin M, Lambotte O, Sáez-Cirión A. Nat Metab. 2019 Jul;1(7):704-716. doi: 10.1038/s42255-019-0081-4. Epub 2019 Jul 12. PMID: 32694646.

The Yellow Brick Road towards HIV Eradication

Saez-Cirion A, Müller-Trutwin M. Trends Immunol. 2019 Jun;40(6):465-467. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2019.04.006. Epub 2019 May 6. PMID: 31072685.

Cellular Metabolism Is a Major Determinant of HIV-1 Reservoir Seeding in CD4 + T Cells and Offers an Opportunity to Tackle Infection

Valle-Casuso JC, Angin M, Volant S, Passaes C, Monceaux V, Mikhailova A, Bourdic K, Avettand-Fenoel V, Boufassa F, Sitbon M, Lambotte O, Thoulouze MI, Müller-Trutwin M, Chomont N, Sáez-Cirión A. Cell Metab. 2019 Mar 5;29(3):611-626.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.11.015. Epub 2018 Dec 20. PMID: 30581119.

Cellular Determinants of HIV Persistence on Antiretroviral Therapy

Mikhailova A, Valle-Casuso JC, Sáez-Cirión A. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2018;1075:213-239. doi: 10.1007/978-981-13-0484-2_9. PMID: 30030795.

Ultrasensitive HIV-1 p24 Assay Detects Single Infected Cells and Differences in Reservoir Induction by Latency Reversal Agents

Passaes CPB, Bruel T, Decalf J, David A, Angin M, Monceaux V, Muller-Trutwin M, Noel N, Bourdic K, Lambotte O, Albert ML, Duffy D, Schwartz O, Sáez-Cirión A. J Virol. 2017 Feb 28;91(6):e02296-16. doi: 10.1128/JVI.02296-16. PMID: 28077644; PMCID: PMC5331803.

HIV-1 virological remission lasting more than 12 years after interruption of early antiretroviral therapy in a perinatally infected teenager enrolled in the French ANRS EPF-CO10 paediatric cohort: a case report

Frange P, Faye A, Avettand-Fenoël V, Bellaton E, Descamps D, Angin M, David A, Caillat-Zucman S, Peytavin G, Dollfus C, Le Chenadec J, Warszawski J, Rouzioux C, Sáez-Cirión A; ANRS EPF-CO10 Pediatric Cohort and the ANRS EP47 VISCONTI study group. Lancet HIV. 2016 Jan;3(1):e49-54. doi: 10.1016/S2352-3018(15)00232-5. Epub 2015 Dec 9. PMID: 26762993.

Post-treatment HIV-1 controllers with a long-term virological remission after the interruption of early initiated antiretroviral therapy ANRS VISCONTI Study

Sáez-Cirión A, Bacchus C, Hocqueloux L, Avettand-Fenoel V, Girault I, Lecuroux C, Potard V, Versmisse P, Melard A, Prazuck T, Descours B, Guergnon J, Viard JP, Boufassa F, Lambotte O, Goujard C, Meyer L, Costagliola D, Venet A, Pancino G, Autran B, Rouzioux C; ANRS VISCONTI Study Group. PLoS Pathog. 2013 Mar;9(3):e1003211. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1003211. Epub 2013 Mar 14. PMID: 23516360; PMCID: PMC3597518.

Dynamics in HIV DNA levels over time in HIV Controllers.

Avettand-Fenoel V, Bayan T, Gardiennet E, Boufassa F, Lopez P, Lecuroux C, Noel N, Trémeaux P, Monceaux V, Autran B, Meyer L, Saez-Cirion A, Lambotte O, Rouzioux C; CODEX ANRS Cohort Study Group. J Int AIDS Soc. 2019 Jan;22(1):e25221. doi: 10.1002/jia2.25221. PMID: 30629340; PMCID: PMC6327944.

Early antiretroviral therapy favors post-treatment SIV control associated with the expansion of enhanced memory CD8+ T-cells

Passaes C, Desjardins D, Chapel A, Monceaux V, Lemaitre J, Mélard A, Perdomo-Celis F, Planchais C, Gourvès M, Dimant N, David A, Dereuddre-Bosquet N, Barrail-Tran A, Gouget H, Guillaume C, Relouzat F, Lambotte O, Guedj J, Müller-Trutwin M, Mouquet H, Rouzioux C, Avettand-Fenoël V, Le Grand R, Sáez-Cirión A.

Nature Communications. 2024, 15(1), Article number: 178