Sample requirements depend on expected reservoir size and desired statistical power. For individuals on long-term suppressive antiretroviral therapy with IUPM values in the 0.1 to 1 range, 100 to 200 mL of peripheral blood or a leukapheresis product yielding at least 15 million CD4+ T cells (cells obtained after purification) is typical. Accelevir’s technical team provides study-specific guidance on sample collection volumes during the methods patient cohort planning phase. Latently infected cells can persist for years in the body, and detecting these rare cells demands sufficient input to achieve statistical significance.
From initiation of testing to final IUPM report, expect 3 to 4 weeks. The cell culture phase spans 21 days, followed by p24 ELISA analysis and statistical quantification. We offer streamlined viral outgrowth assay variants using more sensitive detection that can shorten the culture phase, though Accelevir recommends the standard timeline when data comparability with published literature is a priority. QVOA helps understand viral persistence during suppressive antiretroviral therapy, and the multi-week culture period is inherent to allowing low-frequency viral outgrowth to reach detectable levels.
Yes. Accelevir routinely designs multiplexed testing strategies where a single leukapheresis or large-volume blood draw is allocated across QVOA, IPDA, proviral sequencing, and viral RNA expression assays. This approach provides a layered view of the HIV reservoir: intact proviral DNA count, quantitative recovery of replication-competent viruses, characterization of reservoir variants or mutations of interest, and viral transcriptional activity.
