Enhancement of HIV-1 infection by the capsular polysaccharide of Cryptococcus neoformans.
Patients with AIDS who become infected with Cryptococcus neoformans have a poor prognosis. We speculated that the presence of cryptococcal capsular polysaccharide may enhance HIV-1 infection. In an in-vitro study, the presence of cryptococcal polysaccharide significantly increased (p less than 0.05) production of p24 antigen after infection of H9 cells with HIV-1-infected H9 cells. We also found similar results when lymphocytes from an HIV-1-infected patient were co-cultured with mononuclear cells from an uninfected individual. Our findings suggest a new pathogenic role for the capsular polysaccharide--namely, the capacity to enhance HIV-1 infectivity.
Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461.
M
M
Pettoello-Mantovani
A
A
Casadevall
T R
TR
Kollmann
A
A
Rubinstein
H
H
Goldstein
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000382:microbiology*; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003453:Cryptococcosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D016655:HIV Core Protein p24 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D054303:HIV Reverse Transcriptase; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000378:metabolism; D014775:Virus Activation / Q000187:drug effects*
D016655:HIV Core Protein p24; D011134:Polysaccharides; C014426:cryptococcal polysaccharide; D054303:HIV Reverse Transcriptase; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase