The Susceptibility to X4 and R5 Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Strains of Dendritic Cells Derived In Vitro From CD34+ Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells Is Primarily Determined by Their Maturation Stage

Human immature Langerhans cells restrict CXCR4-using HIV-1 transmission

Background

Sexual transmission is the main route of HIV-1 infection and the CCR5-using (R5) HIV-1 is predominantly transmitted, even though CXCR4-using (X4) HIV-1 is often abundant in chronic HIV-1 patients. The mechanisms underlying this tropism selection are unclear. Mucosal Langerhans cells (LCs) are the first immune cells to encounter HIV-1 and here we investigated the role of LCs in selection of R5 HIV-1 using an ex vivo epidermal and vaginal transmission models.

Results

Immature LCs were productively infected by X4 as well as R5 HIV-1. However, only R5 but not X4 viruses were selectively transmitted by immature LCs to T cells. Transmission of HIV-1 was depended on de novo production of HIV-1 in LCs, since it could be inhibited by CCR5 fusion inhibitors as well as reverse transcription inhibitors. Notably, the activation state of LCs affected the restriction in X4 HIV-1 transmission; immune activation by TNF facilitated transmission of X4 as well as R5 HIV-1.

Conclusions

These data suggest that LCs play a crucial role in R5 selection and that immature LCs effectively restrict X4 at the level of transmission.

Dendritic cell recruitment in response to skin antigen tests in HIV-1-infected individuals correlates with the level of T-cell infiltration

OBJECTIVES

To study whether in-vivo recruitment of dendritic cells in response to antigen administration in the skin is altered during HIV-1 infection.

DESIGN

Skin punch biopsies were collected from HIV-1-positive as well as seronegative individuals at 48 h after intradermal injection of inactivated antigens of mumps virus, Candida albicans, or purified protein derivate (PPD) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

METHODS

Cryosections were analyzed by in-situ staining and computerized imaging.

RESULTS

Control skin biopsies showed that there was no difference in the number of skin-resident dendritic cells between seronegative and HIV-1-positive individuals. Antigen injection resulted in substantial infiltration of dendritic cells compared to the frequencies found in donor-matched control skin. In HIV-1-positive individuals, CD123(+)/CD303(+) plasmacytoid dendritic cells and CD11c myeloid dendritic cells, including the CD141(+) cross-presenting subset, were recruited at lower levels compared to healthy controls in response to PPD and mumps but not C. albicans. The level of dendritic cell recruitment correlated with the frequencies of T cells infiltrating the respective antigen sites. Ki67(+) cycling T cells at the injection sites were much more frequent in response to each of the antigens in the HIV-1-positive individuals, including those with AIDS, compared to healthy controls.

CONCLUSION

Multiple dendritic cell subsets infiltrate the dermis in response to antigen exposure. There was no obvious depletion or deficiency in mobilization of dendritic cells in response to antigen skin tests during chronic HIV-1 infection. Instead, the levels of antigen-specific memory T cells that accumulate at the antigen site may determine the level of dendritic cell infiltration.

Characterization of quantitative and functional innate immune parameters in HIV-1-infected Colombian children receiving stable highly active antiretroviral therapy

BACKGROUND

The immunological benefits of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in HIV-1-infected children include reconstitution of CD4+ T-cell count and functional activity. The effect of HAART on innate immune cells has not been well established.

AIM

To characterize innate immune responses in HAART-treated HIV-1-infected children.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

23 HIV-1-infected children on stable HAART and 23 uninfected children were evaluated. The frequency of innate immune cells in peripheral blood was determined by flow cytometry and functional activity was evaluated using Toll-like receptor agonists.

RESULTS

Compared with uninfected children, HAART-treated HIV-1-infected children exhibited a significant decrease in the frequency of plasmacytoid dendritic cells and natural killer and T-cell receptor (TCR)-invariant CD1d-restricted T cells. This deficiency of innate immune cells was observed mainly in children with detectable viral load. We also compared the magnitude of the quantitative restoration of those cells comparing HIV-1-infected children with HIV-1-infected adults and found a partial effect of HAART on immune restoration that was independent of age. In both pediatric and adult subjects Toll-like receptor agonists induced expression of costimulatory molecules and production of proinflammatory cytokines by dendritic cells. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells of HIV-1-infected children produced significantly reduced amounts of interferon-alpha compared with uninfected children.

CONCLUSIONS

HAART administration to HIV-1-infected children does not lead to a complete increase of circulating innate immune cells, particularly in patients with incomplete suppression of HIV.

Differential susceptibility of naïve, central memory and effector memory T cells to dendritic cell-mediated HIV-1 transmission

Background

Dendritic cells (DC) have been proposed to facilitate sexual transmission of HIV-1 by capture of the virus in the mucosa and subsequent transmission to CD4⁺ T cells. Several T cell subsets can be identified in humans: naïve T cells (T_N) that initiate an immune response to new antigens, and memory T cells that respond to previously encountered pathogens. The memory T cell pool comprises central memory (T_CM) and effector memory cells (T_EM), which are characterized by distinct homing and effector functions. The T_EM cell subset, which can be further divided into effector Th1 and Th2 cells, has been shown to be the prime target for viral replication after HIV-1 infection, and is abundantly present in mucosal tissues.

Results

We determined the susceptibility of T_N, T_CM and T_EM cells to DC-mediated HIV-1 transmission and found that co-receptor expression on the respective T cell subsets is a decisive factor for transmission. Accordingly, CCR5-using (R5) HIV-1 was most efficiently transmitted to T_EM cells, and CXCR4-using (X4) HIV-1 was preferentially transmitted to T_N cells.

Conclusion

The highly efficient R5 transfer to T_EM cells suggests that mucosal T cells are an important target for DC-mediated transmission. This may contribute to the initial burst of virus replication that is observed in these cells. T_N cells, which are the prime target for DC-mediated X4 virus transmission in our study, are considered to inefficiently support HIV-1 replication. Our results thus indicate that DC may play a decisive role in the susceptibility of T_N cells to X4 tropic HIV-1.

Persistent abnormalities in peripheral blood dendritic cells and monocytes from HIV-1-positive patients after 1 year of antiretroviral therapy

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has led to marked decreases in morbidity and mortality rates among HIV-1-positive patients; however, immune recovery is not complete. Although dendritic cells (DCs) were shown to be involved in HIV-1 pathogenesis, few studies have investigated the effect of ART on DCs. We have analyzed the effect of ART on numerical distribution, expression of chemokine receptors, and ex vivo production of inflammatory cytokines by peripheral blood (PB) monocytes and DCs in a cohort of chronically infected HIV-1-positive patients. Patients were tested before therapy and at weeks +2, +4, +8, +12, and +52 after starting ART.Our results show an incomplete T-cell immune reconstitution in chronically infected patients who had undetectable plasma viremia while taking ART for 1 year. This was associated with persistent abnormalities at week +52 of ART, corresponding to increased numbers of CD16 DCs and monocytes, as well as altered expression of CXC chemokine receptors, in the form of increased CXCR1 expression on monocytes and decreased reactivity for CXCR2 and/or CXCR4 on myeloid and plasmacytoid DCs. In addition, an abnormally high spontaneous ex vivo secretion of inflammatory cytokines by CD16 DCs and monocytes was still detected after 1 year of ART. These abnormalities were especially pronounced in patients with less than 200 CD4 T cells/microL, which could be related to the persistence of undetected viral replication and sustained immune activation.

The HIV-1 Tat protein enhances megakaryocytic commitment of K562 cells by facilitating CREB transcription factor coactivation by CBP

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Tat protein regulates transcription factor functions and alters cellular gene expression. Because hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) differentiation requires activation of lineage-specific transcription factors, Tat may affect hematopoiesis in HIV-1-infected micro-environments. We have monitored the molecular effects of Tat on megakaryocytic differentiation in the HPC line, K562. Flow cytometry analysis of CD61 indicated that phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) (16 nM) stimulated megakaryocytic commitment of K562 cells was increased (3- to 4-fold) following exposure to Tat (1-100 ng/ml). Activation of the megakaryocytic transcription factor cAMP regulatory element binding protein (CREB) and its coactivation by the CREB binding protein (CBP) was subsequently monitored. CREB phosphorylation and DNA binding were measured by Western immunodetection and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA), respectively. Within 2 hrs after stimulation, Tat increased both CREB phosphorylation and DNA binding by 7- to 10-fold. Transient cotransfection with CREB reporter and CBP expression plasmids demonstrated that Tat treatment increases (3- to 4-fold) both PMA-stimulated and CBP-mediated transcription via the cAMP regulatory element. Histone acetyl transferase (HAT) activity was increased (8- to 10-fold) in Tat-stimulated cells, which suggested increased chromosomal accessibility of transcription factors. Two-hybrid cotransfection assays using reporter plasmid containing the GAL4 DNA-binding domain and expression plasmid coding for the GAL4-CBP fusion protein, showed that Tat increases (2-fold) CBP-mediated coactivation of CREB. Both reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot analysis showed that Tat treatment increases CBP gene expression (7- to 9-fold) and protein levels (5- to 7-fold) within 6-12 hrs after stimulation. Our findings indicated that Tat treatment increases both CREB function and CREB coactivation by CBP, which may facilitate megakaryocytic commitment of K562 cells. Induction of this molecular signaling by HIV-1 Tat protein may have relevance in understanding the HIV-induced hematologic manifestations and possibly in regulation of viral infectivity parameters in progenitor cell reservoirs.

Extensive repertoire of membrane-bound and soluble dendritic cell-specific ICAM-3-grabbing nonintegrin 1 (DC-SIGN1) and DC-SIGN2 isoforms. Inter-individual variation in expression of DC-SIGN transcripts

Expression in dendritic cells (DCs) of DC-SIGN, a type II membrane protein with a C-type lectin ectodomain, is thought to play an important role in establishing the initial contact between DCs and resting T cells. DC-SIGN is also a unique type of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) attachment factor and promotes efficient infection in trans of cells that express CD4 and chemokine receptors. We have identified another gene, designated here as DC-SIGN2, that exhibits high sequence homology with DC-SIGN. Here we demonstrate that alternative splicing of DC-SIGN1 (original version) and DC-SIGN2 pre-mRNA generates a large repertoire of DC-SIGN-like transcripts that are predicted to encode membrane-associated and soluble isoforms. The range of DC-SIGN1 mRNA expression was significantly broader than previously reported and included THP-1 monocytic cells, placenta, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and there was cell maturation/activation-induced differences in mRNA expression levels. Immunostaining of term placenta with a DC-SIGN1-specific antiserum showed that DC-SIGN1 is expressed on endothelial cells and CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5)-positive macrophage-like cells in the villi. DC-SIGN2 mRNA expression was high in the placenta and not detectable in PBMCs. In DCs, the expression of DC-SIGN2 transcripts was significantly lower than that of DC-SIGN1. Notably, there was significant inter-individual heterogeneity in the repertoire of DC-SIGN1 and DC-SIGN2 transcripts expressed. The genes for DC-SIGN1, DC-SIGN2, and CD23, another Type II lectin, colocalize to an approximately 85 kilobase pair region on chromosome 19p13.3, forming a cluster of related genes that undergo highly complex alternative splicing events. The molecular diversity of DC-SIGN-1 and -2 is reminiscent of that observed for certain other adhesive cell surface proteins involved in cell-cell connectivity. The generation of this large collection of polymorphic cell surface and soluble variants that exhibit inter-individual variation in expression levels has important implications for the pathogenesis of HIV-1 infection, as well as for the molecular code required to establish complex interactions between antigen-presenting cells and T cells, i.e. the immunological synapse.

Nucleocytoplasmic transport in human astrocytes: decreased nuclear uptake of the HIV Rev shuttle protein

Astrocytes are cellular targets for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that limit virus production, owing, at least in part, to the diminished functionality of the viral post-transcriptional stimulatory factor Rev. To understand the trafficking process in astrocytes, we compared nucleocytoplasmic transport of Rev and various proteins with well-characterized nucleocytoplasmic transport features in human astrocytes and control cells (HeLa). Localization and trafficking characteristics of several cellular and viral proteins, as well as nuclear trafficking of classical peptide signals upon microinjection were similar in both cell types, indicating maintenance of general features of nucleocytoplasmic transport in astrocytes. Quantification of fluorescence in living cells expressing Rev fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP) indicated a strong shift in intracellular distribution of Rev in astrocytes, with 50–70% of Rev in the cytoplasm, whereas the cytoplasmic proportion of Rev in HeLa cells is around 10%. The dynamics of nucleocytoplasmic trafficking of Rev were compared in astrocytes and Rev-permissive cells by monitoring migration of Rev-GFP in cell fusions using highly sensitive time-lapse imaging. Nuclear uptake of Rev was dramatically retarded in homo-polykaryons of astrocytes compared with control cells. Diminished nuclear uptake of Rev was also observed in hetero-polykaryons of Rev-permissive cells and astrocytes. These results indicate that astrocytes contain a cytoplasmic activity that interferes with nuclear uptake of Rev. Our studies suggest a model in which Rev is prevented from functioning efficiently in astrocytes by specific alterations of its nucleocytoplasmic trafficking properties. http://www.biologists.com/JCS/movies/jcs1709.html