Loss of blood CD11c(+) myeloid and CD11c(-) plasmacytoid dendritic cells in patients with HIV-1 infection correlates with HIV-1 RNA virus load.
Human blood contains at least 2 subpopulations of antigen-presenting dendritic cells (DCs) that can be differentiated by their expression of CD11c. Myeloid DCs (myDCs), which are CD11c(+), trap invading pathogens in the tissues and then migrate to lymphoid tissues where they stimulate pathogen-specific T-cell responses. Plasmacytoid DCs (pcDCs), which are CD11c(-), secrete interferon-alpha in response to viral infections. This study reports that in HIV-1 infection there is a progressive depletion of both these DC populations and that this correlates with an increasing HIV-1 plasma virus load. The median numbers of myDCs and pcDCs were 6978/mL and 9299/mL, respectively, in healthy male controls and 2298/mL and 1640/mL, respectively, in patients with more than 10(5) HIV-1 RNA copies/mL. Both DC populations expressed CD4, CCR5, and CXCR4. The findings suggest that loss of DCs in HIV infection may contribute to disease progression.
Donaghy
H
H
Department of Immunology, Imperial College School of Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
Pozniak
A
A
Gazzard
B
B
Qazi
N
N
Gilmour
J
J
Gotch
F
F
Patterson
S
S
D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D016167:Integrin alphaXbeta2 / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D019713:Receptors, CCR5 / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D019718:Receptors, CXCR4 / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D019562:Viral Load
D015704:CD4 Antigens; D016167:Integrin alphaXbeta2; D012367:RNA, Viral; D019713:Receptors, CCR5; D019718:Receptors, CXCR4