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Sánchez-Gaona N, Gallego-Cortés A, Astorga-Gamaza A, Rallón N, Benito JM, Ruiz-Mateos E, Curran A, Burgos J, Navarro J, Suanzes P, Falcó V, Genescà M, Buzon MJ. NKG2C and NKG2A coexpression defines a highly functional antiviral NK population in spontaneous HIV control. JCI Insight 2024; 9:e182660. [PMID: 39288262 PMCID: PMC11529982 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.182660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2024] [Accepted: 09/10/2024] [Indexed: 09/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Elite controllers (ECs), a unique group of people with HIV (PWH), exhibit remarkable control of viral replication in the absence of antiretroviral therapy. In this study, we comprehensively characterized the NK cell repertoire in ECs after long-term viral control. Phenotypic profiling of NK cells revealed profound differences compared with other PWH, but marked similarities to uninfected individuals, with a distinctive prevalence of NKG2C+CD57+ memory-like NK cells. Functional analyses indicated that ECs had limited production of functional molecules upon NK stimulation and consequently reduced natural cytotoxicity against non-HIV target cells. Importantly, ECs showed an exceptional ability to kill primary HIV-infected cells by the antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity adaptive mechanism, which was achieved by a specific memory-like NK population expressing CD16, NKG2A, NKG2C, CD57, and CXCR3. In-depth single-cell RNA-seq unveiled a unique transcriptional signature in these NK cells linked to increased cell metabolism, migration, chemotaxis, effector functions, cytokine secretion, and antiviral response. Our findings underscore a pivotal role of NK cells in the immune control of HIV and identify specific NK cells as emerging targets for immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nerea Sánchez-Gaona
- Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ana Gallego-Cortés
- Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Antonio Astorga-Gamaza
- Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Norma Rallón
- HIV and Viral Hepatitis Research Laboratory, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria-Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IIS-FJD, UAM), Madrid, Spain
- Hospital Universitario Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Spain
| | - José Miguel Benito
- HIV and Viral Hepatitis Research Laboratory, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria-Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IIS-FJD, UAM), Madrid, Spain
- Hospital Universitario Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Spain
| | - Ezequiel Ruiz-Mateos
- Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBiS), Virgen del Rocío University Hospital, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), University of Seville, Clinical Unit of Infectious Diseases, Microbiology and Parasitology, Seville, Spain
| | - Adrian Curran
- Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Joaquin Burgos
- Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jordi Navarro
- Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Paula Suanzes
- Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Vicenç Falcó
- Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Meritxell Genescà
- Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Maria J. Buzon
- Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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Walimbwa SI, Maly P, Kafkova LR, Raska M. Beyond glycan barriers: non-cognate ligands and protein mimicry approaches to elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies for HIV-1. J Biomed Sci 2024; 31:83. [PMID: 39169357 PMCID: PMC11337606 DOI: 10.1186/s12929-024-01073-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2024] [Accepted: 08/12/2024] [Indexed: 08/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine immunogens capable of inducing broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) remain obscure. HIV-1 evades immune responses through enormous diversity and hides its conserved vulnerable epitopes on the envelope glycoprotein (Env) by displaying an extensive immunodominant glycan shield. In elite HIV-1 viremic controllers, glycan-dependent bNAbs targeting conserved Env epitopes have been isolated and are utilized as vaccine design templates. However, immunological tolerance mechanisms limit the development of these antibodies in the general population. The well characterized bNAbs monoclonal variants frequently exhibit extensive levels of somatic hypermutation, a long third heavy chain complementary determining region, or a short third light chain complementarity determining region, and some exhibit poly-reactivity to autoantigens. This review elaborates on the obstacles to engaging and manipulating the Env glycoprotein as an effective immunogen and describes an alternative reverse vaccinology approach to develop a novel category of bNAb-epitope-derived non-cognate immunogens for HIV-1 vaccine design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Ian Walimbwa
- Department of Immunology, University Hospital Olomouc, Zdravotníků 248/7, 77900, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
| | - Petr Maly
- Laboratory of Ligand Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV Research Center, Průmyslová 595, 252 50, Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Leona Raskova Kafkova
- Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University Olomouc, Hněvotínská 3, 779 00, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Milan Raska
- Department of Immunology, University Hospital Olomouc, Zdravotníků 248/7, 77900, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
- Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University Olomouc, Hněvotínská 3, 779 00, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
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Symmonds J, Gaufin T, Xu C, Raehtz KD, Ribeiro RM, Pandrea I, Apetrei C. Making a Monkey out of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Pathogenesis: Immune Cell Depletion Experiments as a Tool to Understand the Immune Correlates of Protection and Pathogenicity in HIV Infection. Viruses 2024; 16:972. [PMID: 38932264 PMCID: PMC11209256 DOI: 10.3390/v16060972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2024] [Revised: 05/31/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding the underlying mechanisms of HIV pathogenesis is critical for designing successful HIV vaccines and cure strategies. However, achieving this goal is complicated by the virus's direct interactions with immune cells, the induction of persistent reservoirs in the immune system cells, and multiple strategies developed by the virus for immune evasion. Meanwhile, HIV and SIV infections induce a pandysfunction of the immune cell populations, making it difficult to untangle the various concurrent mechanisms of HIV pathogenesis. Over the years, one of the most successful approaches for dissecting the immune correlates of protection in HIV/SIV infection has been the in vivo depletion of various immune cell populations and assessment of the impact of these depletions on the outcome of infection in non-human primate models. Here, we present a detailed analysis of the strategies and results of manipulating SIV pathogenesis through in vivo depletions of key immune cells populations. Although each of these methods has its limitations, they have all contributed to our understanding of key pathogenic pathways in HIV/SIV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jen Symmonds
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; (J.S.); (C.X.); (K.D.R.); (I.P.)
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Thaidra Gaufin
- Tulane National Primate Research Center, Tulane University, Covington, LA 70433, USA;
| | - Cuiling Xu
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; (J.S.); (C.X.); (K.D.R.); (I.P.)
- Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Kevin D. Raehtz
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; (J.S.); (C.X.); (K.D.R.); (I.P.)
- Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Ruy M. Ribeiro
- Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
| | - Ivona Pandrea
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; (J.S.); (C.X.); (K.D.R.); (I.P.)
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Cristian Apetrei
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
- Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
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Rallón N, Jiménez-Carretero D, Restrepo C, Ligos JM, Valentín-Quiroga J, Mahillo I, Cabello A, López-Collazo E, Sánchez-Cabo F, Górgolas M, Estrada V, Benito JM. A specific natural killer cells phenotypic signature associated to long term elite control of HIV infection. J Med Virol 2024; 96:e29646. [PMID: 38699988 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.29646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2024] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024]
Abstract
Elite controllers (ECs) are an exceptional group of people living with HIV (PLWH) that control HIV replication without therapy. Among the mechanisms involved in this ability, natural killer (NK)-cells have recently gained much attention. We performed an in-deep phenotypic analysis of NK-cells to search for surrogate markers associated with the long term spontaneous control of HIV. Forty-seven PLWH (22 long-term EC [PLWH-long-term elite controllers (LTECs)], 15 noncontrollers receiving antiretroviral treatment [ART] [PLWH-onART], and 10 noncontrollers cART-naïve [PLWH-offART]), and 20 uninfected controls were included. NK-cells homeostasis was analyzed by spectral flow cytometry using a panel of 15 different markers. Data were analyzed using FCSExpress and R software for unsupervised multidimensional analysis. Six different subsets of NK-cells were defined on the basis of CD16 and CD56 expression, and the multidimensional analysis revealed the existence of 68 different NK-cells clusters based on the expression levels of the 15 different markers. PLWH-offART presented the highest disturbance of NK-cells homeostasis and this was not completely restored by long-term ART. Interestingly, long term spontaneous control of HIV (PLWH-LTEC group) was associated with a specific profile of NK-cells homeostasis disturbance, characterized by an increase of CD16dimCD56dim subset when compared to uninfected controls (UC) group and also to offART and onART groups (p < 0.0001 for the global comparison), an increase of clusters C16 and C26 when compared to UC and onART groups (adjusted p-value < 0.05 for both comparisons), and a decrease of clusters C10 and C20 when compared to all the other groups (adjusted p-value < 0.05 for all comparisons). These findings may provide clues to elucidate markers of innate immunity with a relevant role in the long-term control of HIV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norma Rallón
- HIV and Viral Hepatitis Research Laboratory, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IIS-FJD, UAM), Madrid, Spain
- Hospital Universitario Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Spain
| | - Daniel Jiménez-Carretero
- Unidad de Bioinformática, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Clara Restrepo
- HIV and Viral Hepatitis Research Laboratory, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IIS-FJD, UAM), Madrid, Spain
- Hospital Universitario Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Spain
| | | | | | - Ignacio Mahillo
- Department of Statistics, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IIS-FJD, UAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Alfonso Cabello
- Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Eduardo López-Collazo
- Grupo de respuesta inmune innata, IdiPAZ, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Fátima Sánchez-Cabo
- Unidad de Bioinformática, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel Górgolas
- Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - José M Benito
- HIV and Viral Hepatitis Research Laboratory, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IIS-FJD, UAM), Madrid, Spain
- Hospital Universitario Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Spain
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Singh M, Leddy SM, Iñiguez LP, Bendall ML, Nixon DF, Feschotte C. Transposable elements may enhance antiviral resistance in HIV-1 elite controllers. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.11.571123. [PMID: 38168352 PMCID: PMC10760019 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.11.571123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Less than 0.5% of people living with HIV-1 are elite controllers (ECs) - individuals who have a replication-competent viral reservoir in their CD4+ T cells but maintain undetectable plasma viremia without the help of antiretroviral therapy. While the EC CD4+ T cell transcriptome has been investigated for gene expression signatures associated with disease progression (or, in this case, a lack thereof), the expression and regulatory activity of transposable elements (TEs) in ECs has not been explored. Yet previous studies have established that TEs can directly impact the immune response to pathogens, including HIV-1. Thus, we hypothesize that the regulatory activities of TEs could contribute to the natural resistance of ECs against HIV-1. We perform a TE-centric analysis of previously published multi-omics data derived from EC individuals and other populations. We find that the CD4+ T cell transcriptome and retrotranscriptome of ECs are distinct from healthy controls, treated patients, and viremic progressors. However, there is a substantial level of transcriptomic heterogeneity among ECs. We categorize individuals with distinct chromatin accessibility and expression profiles into four clusters within the EC group, each possessing unique repertoires of TEs and antiviral factors. Notably, several TE families with known immuno-regulatory activity are differentially expressed among ECs. Their transcript levels in ECs positively correlate with their chromatin accessibility and negatively correlate with the expression of their KRAB zinc-finger (KZNF) repressors. This coordinated variation is seen at the level of individual TE loci likely acting or, in some cases, known to act as cis-regulatory elements for nearby genes involved in the immune response and HIV-1 restriction. Based on these results, we propose that the EC phenotype is driven in part by the reduced availability of specific KZNF proteins to repress TE-derived cis-regulatory elements for antiviral genes, thereby heightening their basal level of resistance to HIV-1 infection. Our study reveals considerable heterogeneity in the CD4+ T cell transcriptome of ECs, including variable expression of TEs and their KZNF controllers, that must be taken into consideration to decipher the mechanisms enabling HIV-1 control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manvendra Singh
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
- Clinical Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, City Campus, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sabrina M Leddy
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Luis Pedro Iñiguez
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Matthew L Bendall
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Douglas F Nixon
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Cédric Feschotte
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
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Caputo V, Libera M, Sisti S, Giuliani B, Diotti RA, Criscuolo E. The initial interplay between HIV and mucosal innate immunity. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1104423. [PMID: 36798134 PMCID: PMC9927018 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1104423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is still one of the major global health issues, and despite significant efforts that have been put into studying the pathogenesis of HIV infection, several aspects need to be clarified, including how innate immunity acts in different anatomical compartments. Given the nature of HIV as a sexually transmitted disease, one of the aspects that demands particular attention is the mucosal innate immune response. Given this scenario, we focused our attention on the interplay between HIV and mucosal innate response: the different mucosae act as a physical barrier, whose integrity can be compromised by the infection, and the virus-cell interaction induces the innate immune response. In addition, we explored the role of the mucosal microbiota in facilitating or preventing HIV infection and highlighted how its changes could influence the development of several opportunistic infections. Although recent progress, a proper characterization of mucosal innate immune response and microbiota is still missing, and further studies are needed to understand how they can be helpful for the formulation of an effective vaccine.
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Effective innate immune response in natural HIV-1 controllers. Can mimicking lead to novel preventive and cure strategies against HIV-1? Curr Opin HIV AIDS 2022; 17:308-314. [PMID: 35938465 PMCID: PMC9415221 DOI: 10.1097/coh.0000000000000750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW HIV-1 controller individuals represents a model that can be useful for the development of novel vaccines and therapies. Initial studies pointed to the involvement of improved adaptive immunity, however, new emerging evidence suggests the contribution of innate cells to effective antiviral responses in spontaneous controllers. Therefore, understanding the alterations on innate cell subsets might be crucial to develop new effective therapeutic strategies. RECENT FINDINGS Among different innate immune cells, dendritic cell (DC) and natural killer (NK) cell are essential for effective antiviral responses. DC from controllers display improved innate detection of HIV-1 transcripts, higher induction of interferons, higher antigen presenting capacities and increased metabolism and higher capacities to induce polyfunctional CD8+ T-cell responses. Such properties have been mimicked by Toll-like receptor ligands and applied to DC-based immunotherapies in humans and in animal models. NK cells from controllers display higher expression of activating receptors promoting increased antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and natural cytotoxicity activities. Neutralizing antibodies in combination with interleukin-15 superagonist or interferon-α can increase ADCC and cytotoxicity in NK cells from HIV-1 progressors. SUMMARY Mimicking DC and NK cell innate profiles in controllers has become a promising strategy to step forward a novel efficient immunotherapy against the HIV-1 infection.
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