title: Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 can infect human retinal pigment epithelial cells in culture and alter the ability of the cells to phagocytose rod outer segment membranes.
abstract: Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) has been found in the vitreous of persons with AIDS. Here we investigated the susceptibility of human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells to HIV-1 infection in culture and the effects of HIV-1 on the phagocytic function of the RPE. We found that 10 of 11 populations of RPE cells isolated from different fetal or adult eyes were susceptible to low-level replication of HIV-1/NL4-3 as determined by the detection of viral DNA and spliced viral RNA encoding envelope. HIV-1 infection was not inhibited by recombinant soluble CD4, suggesting that CD4 is not required for virus entry into RPE cells. RPE cells fused with target cells constitutively expressing HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins, indicating that HIV-1 enters cells by receptor-mediated fusion. Exposure to HIV-1 or recombinant gp120 caused a two- to four-fold increase in the binding and uptake of isolated rod outer segments by RPE cells. These findings introduce a new cell target of HIV-1 replication in the eye and indicate that RPE cells function aberrantly when exposed to HIV-1 or its envelope glycoprotein.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Virology Laboratory, St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital Center, Columbia University, New York, New York 10019, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Canki
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sparrow
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Potash
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Volsky
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000494:pharmacology; D016466:CHO Cells; D002459:Cell Fusion; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006224:Cricetinae; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000821:virology; D005333:Fetus; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120 / Q000378:metabolism; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D010587:Phagocytosis; D010857:Pigment Epithelium of Eye / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D012374:Rod Cell Outer Segment / Q000276:immunology; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D015704:CD4 Antigens; D004279:DNA, Viral; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120; D012367:RNA, Viral; D011994:Recombinant Proteins