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

• Main Authors: Schuitemaker Joost HN, van Capel Toni MM, Groot Fedde, Berkhout Ben, de Jong Esther C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2006-08-01
• Series: Retrovirology
• Online Access: http://www.retrovirology.com/content/3/1/52

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>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_EMcell 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.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We determined the susceptibility of T_N, T_CMand T_EMcells 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_EMcells, and CXCR4-using (X4) HIV-1 was preferentially transmitted to T_Ncells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The highly efficient R5 transfer to T_EMcells 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_Ncells, 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_Ncells to X4 tropic HIV-1.</p>