Fernandes, S. M.Pires, A. R.Ferreira, C.Tendeiro, R.Correia, L.Paulo, S. E.Victorino, R. M.Sousa, A. E.2015-02-032015-02-032014AIDS 2014, Vol 28 No 2, p. 290-2920269-9370http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/QAD.0000000000000114http://hdl.handle.net/10451/15876Copyright © Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.HIV-2 infection is highly prevalent inWest Africa and has been increasingly observed in non-African countries, mostly associated with migratory populations [1]. It has a much more benign course and lower viremia than HIV-1 [2], though with similar clinical spectra. Half of the HIV-2 infected patients with less than 200 CD4+ T-cells/ml exhibit undetectable viremia, despite harbouring numbers of infected cells comparable to their HIV-1 counterparts [3]. Moreover, CD4+ T-cell loss occurs in direct association with progressive immune activation in both infections, though the depletion rate is much slower in HIV-2 [2,4]. HIV-1 disease progression has been linked to disruption of gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT)and increased levels of microbial translocation, leading to systemic immune activation. There are currently no data on the impact of HIV-2 on GALT. Here, we provide evidence of HIV-2 replication in the gut despite the low viremia, which was associated with major mucosal disruption and CD4+ T-cell depletion that recovered upon antiretroviral treatment (ART).engjournal article