The fecal microbiome directly drives immune activation in HIV infection

Immune activation is a hallmark of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection: it causes progression to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), impaired CD4+ T-cell reconstitution on suppressive combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) and contributes to non-infectious comorbidities (1-6). Understanding the mechanisms whereby immune activation arises is thus crucial for the elaboration of novel therapeutic interventions in the setting of HIV infection.