CROI 2022: No impact from high-dose vitamin D3 on reducing the HIV viral reservoir

Simon Collins, HIV i-Base

A poster from HIV researchers in Australia looked at whether vitamin D3 supplements might reduce the reservoir of sleeping cells by reducing CD4 cell proliferation.

This pilot study randomised 30 people on effective ART to either high-dose oral vitamin D3 (10,000 international units daily) for 24 weeks or a matching placebo.

There were no differences in the primary endpoint of changes in HIV DNA in cells over the 24 weeks (p=0.19) – a marker for waking cells in the reservoir,

However, there was a 1.24 (95% CIL 1.01 to 1.51) fold increase (p = 0.039) from week 0 to week 12 and a 0.76 (95% CI: 0.62 to 0.94) fold decrease (p = 0.009) from week 0 to week 36 in frequency of total HIV DNA relative to placebo. 

Vitamin D3 levels remained high at week 36 due to long half-life but there were no safety issues from the study.

Reference

Pitman MC et al. Effect of high-dose vitamin D3 on the HIV reservoir: a randomised controlled trial. CROI 2022, 12–16 and 22–24 February, virtual meeting. Poster abstract 355.
https://www.croiconference.org/abstract/effect-of-high-dose-vitamin-d3-on-the-hiv-reservoir-a-randomized-controlled-trial/

This report was first published on 15 February 2022.