Boasso A, Hardy AW, Anderson SA, Dolan MJ, Shearer GM. HIV-induced type I interferon and tryptophan catabolism drive T cell dysfunction despite phenotypic activation.
PLoS One 2008;
3:e2961. [PMID:
18698365 PMCID:
PMC2491901 DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0002961]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2008] [Accepted: 07/22/2008] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is characterized by functional impairment and chronic activation of T lymphocytes, the causes of which are largely unexplained. We cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from HIV-uninfected donors in the presence or absence of HIV. HIV exposure increased expression of the activation markers CD69 and CD38 on CD4 and CD8 T cells. IFN-α/β, produced by HIV-activated plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC), was necessary and sufficient for CD69 and CD38 upregulation, as the HIV-induced effect was inhibited by blockade of IFN-α/β receptor and mimicked by recombinant IFN-α/β. T cells from HIV-exposed PBMC showed reduced proliferation after T cell receptor stimulation, partially prevented by 1-methyl tryptophan, a competitive inhibitor of the immunesuppressive enzyme indoleamine (2,3)-dioxygenase (IDO), expressed by HIV-activated pDC. HIV-induced IDO inhibited CD4 T cell proliferation by cell cycle arrest in G1/S, and prevented CD8 T cell from entering the cell cycle by downmodulating the costimulatory receptor CD28. Finally, the expression of CHOP, a marker of the stress response activated by IDO, was upregulated by HIV in T cells in vitro and is increased in T cells from HIV-infected patients. Our data provide an in vitro model for HIV-induced T cell dysregulation and support the hypothesis that activation of pDC concomitantly contribute to phenotypic T cell activation and inhibition of T cell proliferative capacity during HIV infection.
Collapse