title: Type I interferon contributes to CD4+ T cell depletion induced by infection with HIV-1 in the human thymus.
abstract: Persistent induction of type 1 interferon (IFN) is associated with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. We report here that the pathogenic HIV strain R3A (HIV-R3A) induced high levels of type 1 IFN, while the nonpathogenic HIV-R3B showed no significant induction in human fetal thymus organ culture (HFTOC). We found that IFN contributed to the depletion of human T cells by HIV-R3A in a fusion-independent fashion. The R3B recombinant with the R3A Env V1V2 domain (R3B/A-V1V2) was able to induce type 1 IFN, which contributed to the increased depletion of T cells. Therefore, type 1 IFN induction plays a significant role in HIV-induced T cell depletion in the human thymus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Vijay
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sivaraman
authors.forename: Liguo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Lishan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Su
mesh_terms: D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology*; D008212:Lymphocyte Depletion; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D007370:Interferon Type I