title: Alterations of the B-cell response by HIV-1 replication.
abstract: While the hallmark of HIV-1 infection is the progressive depletion of CD4(+) T cells, extensive B-cell dysfunction ensues that impairs the quality of the humoral response. HIV-1 infection causes hypergammaglobulinemia, polyclonal activation, loss of memory B-cell subsets, B-cell exhaustion, aberrant B-cell surface markers, and impaired humoral responses against infections and vaccinations. The totality of the mechanisms that contribute to B-cell dysfunction in vivo is unknown, although roles for HIV proteins (Env, Tat, and Nef) and virions binding to CD21 on B cells have been identified. Recent studies suggest that early antiretroviral therapy, that minimizes virus replication, can profoundly preserve the early B-cell response to HIV-1. Thus, it is clear that there is an intricate interplay between HIV replication and stimulation of the host B-cell response to infection. A better understanding of how HIV-1 subverts a productive B-cell response is needed to inform vaccine strategies that aim to elicit long-lived plasma cells and memory B-cell responses that can act quickly upon antigen stimulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaoying
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Georgia D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Tomaras
mesh_terms: D016915:AIDS Vaccines / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D056724:Immunity, Humoral; D017578:Immunoglobulin Class Switching; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D014779:Virus Replication; D054299:env Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000276:immunology; D054311:nef Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D016915:AIDS Vaccines; D054299:env Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; D054311:nef Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus