title: Human immunodeficiency virus infection of eosinophils in human bone marrow cultures.
abstract: Normal human bone marrow, cultured in vitro with interleukin 5 to promote eosinophil production and maturation, was inoculated with cell-free isolates of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). CD4 expression by eosinophil precursors, determined by immunocytochemistry, was found to be greatest early in their maturation with a rapid decline after 28 d in culture. Productive HIV infection of eosinophil precursors was detected 14 d after inoculation, by a combination of immunostaining for HIV-1 p24 and gp41/160 and in situ hybridization for viral RNA, together with assay of culture supernatants for p24 antigen and reverse transcriptase activity. Thus, eosinophils are susceptible to productive HIV-1 infection in vitro and may be an important reservoir for the virus in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Division of Communicable Diseases, St. George's Hospital Medical School, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Freedman
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Fleming
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Spry
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Griffin
mesh_terms: D001853:Bone Marrow; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D016655:HIV Core Protein p24 / Q000032:analysis; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000254:growth & development*; D006801:Humans; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D015704:CD4 Antigens; D016655:HIV Core Protein p24; D012367:RNA, Viral