title: The impact of inflammation and immune activation on B cell differentiation during HIV-1 infection.
abstract: One important pathogenic feature of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection is chronic immune activation and impaired survival of T and B cells. A decline of resting memory B cells was reported to occur in both children and adults infected with HIV-1; these cells are responsible for maintaining an adequate serological response to antigens previously encountered in life through natural infection or vaccination. Further understanding of the mechanisms leading to impaired B cell differentiation and germinal center reaction might be essential to design new HIV vaccines and therapies that could improve humoral immune responses in HIV-1 infected individuals. In the present article we summarize the literature and present our view on critical mechanisms of B cell development impaired during HIV-1 infection. We also discuss the impact of microbial translocation, a driving force for persistent inflammation during HIV-1 infection, on survival of terminally differentiated B cells and how the altered expression of cytokines/chemokines pivotal for communication between T and B cells in lymphoid tissues may impair formation of memory B cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ruffin
authors.forename: Pham Hong
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Thang
authors.forename: Bence
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rethi
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chiodi