Despite systemic viral suppression, people living with HIV (PLHIV) on antiretroviral therapy (ART) remain highly susceptible to pneumococcal colonisation and disease. Here, we show that long-term ART does not restore nasal mucosal immunity. Using flow cytometry, single-cell transcriptomics, and neutrophil functional assays, we identify a persistent mucosal immune signature in PLHIV-ART > 1 yr marked by epithelial-driven neutrophilic inflammation, T cell exhaustion, and cellular senescence. Neutrophils exhibit mitochondrial stress, senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) gene expression, and impaired oxidative burst, particularly in individuals with pneumococcal carriage. Epithelial cells express elevated neutrophil-recruiting ligand genes, while nasal T cells display pro-apoptotic and exhaustion gene profiles. Neutrophilic inflammation is strongly associated with pneumococcal carriage density, implicating a feedforward loop between inflammation and microbial persistence. Our findings reveal tissue-specific immune dysregulation despite ART and suggest that targeting epithelial-immune signalling or neutrophil senescence may offer novel therapeutic avenues to reduce respiratory pathogen burden in PLHIV.
Journal article
2025-12-15T00:00:00+00:00
17
Humans, HIV Infections, Neutrophils, Nasal Mucosa, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Pneumococcal Infections, Male, Female, Cellular Senescence, Inflammation, Adult, Middle Aged, T-Lymphocytes, Epithelial Cells