Monocytes In Aids As Targets For Antiviral Therapy

该项目的研究旨在了解HIV-1感染的机制，特别是在巨噬细胞中，并制定有效的策略来预防和/或抑制感染。免疫缺陷，HIV-1感染的后果，使宿主容易受到机会性感染。反过来，机会性感染影响靶细胞对HIV-1感染和复制的易感性。以禽支原体为模型共病原体，我们定义了多种病毒容许因子。此外，扁桃体和非感染性粘膜炎性病变中发生的免疫激活也可能与病毒复制的近端部位有关。这些激活/炎症与HIV-1感染增强之间的联系，为进一步阐明促进HIV-1纵容性的因素提供了依据。扁桃体代表了一个独特的微环境，拥有大量激活和高度易感的HIV靶点。通过分离和培养带有HIV病毒的扁桃体细胞，与敏感性较低的外周血单个核细胞相比，可以建立增强易感性的表型、功能和分子相关关系，并为干预靶点提供见解。在这些研究的延伸中，将粘附的人外周血单核细胞来源的巨噬细胞暴露于R5性HIV以使细胞表面相互作用，并监测巨噬细胞的信号转导，即时早期基因的表达以及与病毒复制相关的基因。随着信号级联、基因转录和巨噬细胞特异性病毒动力学之间的关联被阐明，可能会出现干扰HIV复制和再感染的新策略。

Research in this project is directed at understanding the mechanisms of HIV-1 infection, particularly in macrophages, and in developing an effective strategy to prevent and/or inhibit infection. Immunodeficiency, the consequence of HIV-1 infection, predisposes the host to opportunistic infections. In turn, opportunistic infections influence target cell susceptibility to HIV-1 infection and replication.Using M. avium as a model co-pathogen, we have defined multiple viral permissive factors. Moreover, immune activation as occurs in tonsils and non-infectious mucosal inflammatory lesions may also be associated with proximal sites of viral replication. These connections between activation/inflammation and enhancement of HIV-1 infection warrant further elucidation of the factors promoting permissiveness to HIV-1. The tonsil represents an unique microenvironment possessing a large reservoir of activated and highly susceptible HIV targets. By isolating and culturing tonsil cells with HIV, phenotypic, functional and molecular correlates of enhanced susceptibility, as compared to less sensitive peripheral blood mononuclear cells, can be established and provide insight into interventional targets. In an extension of these studies, adherent human peripheral blood monocyte-derived macrophages were exposed to R5 tropic HIV to enable cell surace interactions, and the macrophages monitored for signal transduction, expression of immediate early genes, and genes associated with viral replication. As the association between signaling cascades, gene transcription and macrophage-specific viral dynamics is elucidated, new strategies to interfere with HIV replication and re-infection may emerge.