title: Antigen-driven HIV expansion in allergen-specific T cells.
abstract: In industrialized countries there is a high prevalence of allergy toward nickel ions. The exposure of affected individuals to nickel leads to a delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction, which is induced by antigen-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells. Beside this antigenic potential, immunomodulatory properties of nickel ions were described. To dissect the role of both mechanisms for HIV replication, we studied HIV expansion in PBMC of nickel-allergic and nonallergic donors. Nickel ions promote HIV replication in PBMC as efficiently as protein antigens. The nickel-mediated virus expansion strictly required the presence of nickel-specific T cells. Data obtained with nickel-specific CD4 T cell clones showed that antigen-mediated proliferation is an absolute prerequisite for HIV expansion. However, the previously suggested immunomodulatory properties of nickel ions do not seem to contribute to HIV expansion. As a widely distributed antigen with increasing numbers of allergic people, nickel may be an important and underestimated factor of HIV expansion in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Saarland, Homburg, Germany. reinhard.maier@kssg.ch
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Maier
authors.forename: Corinne
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moulon
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Holzer
authors.forename: Hans Ulrich
authors.initials: HU
authors.lastname: Weltzien
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meyerhans
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology*; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D015488:HIV Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology / Q000821:virology; D009532:Nickel / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D013745:Tetanus Toxoid / Q000494:pharmacology; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D015488:HIV Antigens; D013745:Tetanus Toxoid; D009532:Nickel; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase