Minimal Requirements for Primary HIV Latency Models Based on a Systematic Review

Due to the scarcity of HIV-1 latently infected cells in patients, in vitro primary latency models are now commonly used to study the HIV-1 reservoir. To this end, a number of experimental systems have been developed. Most of these models differ based on the nature of the primary CD4+ T-cell type, the used HIV strains, activation methods, and latency assessment strategies. Despite these differences, most models share some common characteristics. Here, we provide a systematic review covering the primary HIV latency models that have been used to date with the aim to compare these models and identify minimal requirements for such experiments.A systematic search on PubMed and Web of Science databases generated a short list of 17 unique publications that propose new in vitro latency models. Based on the described methods, we propose and discuss a generalized workflow, visualizing all the necessary steps to perform such an in vitro study, with the key choices and validation steps that need to be made; from cell type selection until the model readout.