Persistent HIV-1 infection is associated with abnormal hyper-activation of the immune system and the expression of multiple immunosuppressive factors including interleukin-10 (IL-10) [1,2], programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1), programmed death receptor 1 (PD-1) [3–5] and indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase (IDO) [6]. Here, IL10 is linked to HIV-1 infection.