Zhao L, Gao J, Li Y, Liu L, Yang Y, Guo B, Zhu B. Disrupted Homeostatic Cytokines Expression in
Secondary Lymph Organs during HIV Infection.
Int J Mol Sci 2016;
17:413. [PMID:
27011165 PMCID:
PMC4813265 DOI:
10.3390/ijms17030413]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2016] [Revised: 02/05/2016] [Accepted: 03/14/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Research has firmly established that infection by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) leads to structural disruption in secondary lymph organs (SLOs) and that IL-7 expression by SLOs is downregulated in simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected rhesus macaques. However, the foregoing has not been demonstrated in HIV-infected patients. As well, SLO-produced chemokines and cytokines, other than IL-7, have not been tested. In this study, SLOs in HIV-infected patients exhibit decreased levels of lymphoid cytokines, such as IL-7 and C–C motif chemokine ligand 21 (CCL21), due to lower expression of lymphotoxin (LT)-β. Previous research has shown that LT-β is produced mainly by CD4+T cells in rhesus macaques, while our study found the same level of LT-β expressed by CD4+T and CD8+T cells in humans. CD8+T cells substitute for depleted CD4+T cells LT-β production. Only the total number of CD3+T cells can account for the majority of LT-β in human SLOs. This study indicates a possible mechanism and a potential target for improvement of SLO function in HIV-infected patients, a novel adjuvant therapy for AIDS.
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