title: Potentiation of the immune response in HIV-1+ individuals.
abstract: T cells from HIV-1+ individuals have a defect in mounting an antigen specific response. HIV-1 Tat has been implicated as the causative agent of this immunosuppression. We have previously shown that HIV-1 Tat inhibits antigen specific proliferation of normal T cells in vitro by binding to the accessory molecule CD26, a dipeptidase expressed on the surface of activated T cells. We now demonstrate that the defective in vitro recall antigen response in HIV-1 infected individuals can be restored by the addition of soluble CD26, probably by serving as a decoy receptor for HIV-1 Tat. The restored response is comparable to that of an HIV-1- individual, suggesting that early in HIV infection there is a block in the memory cell response, rather than deletion of these cells.
authors.affiliation: Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schmitz
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Underwood
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khiroya
authors.forename: W W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Bachovchin
authors.forename: B T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Huber
mesh_terms: D018819:Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000187:drug effects; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy
chemical_list: D018819:Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4