Lymphoid Tissue Damage in HIV-1 Infection Depletes Naïve T Cells and Limits T Cell Reconstitution after Antiretroviral Therapy

Abstract Loss of the fibroblastic reticular cell (FRC) network in lymphoid tissues during HIV-1 infection has been shown to impair the survival of naive T cells and limit immune reconstitution after antiretroviral therapy. What causes this FRC loss is unknown. Because FRC loss correlates with loss of both naive CD4 and CD8 T-cell subsets and decreased lymphotoxin-β, a key factor for maintenance of FRC network, we hypothesized that loss of naive T cells is responsible for loss of the FRC network. To test this hypothesis, we assessed the consequences of antibody-mediated depletion of CD4 and CD8 T cells in rhesus macaques and sooty mangabeys. We found that only CD4 T-cell depletion resulted in FRC loss in both species and that this loss was caused by decreased lymphotoxin-β mainly produced by the CD4 T cells. We further found the same dependence of the FRC network on CD4 T cells in HIV-1–infected patients before and after antiretroviral therapy and in other immunodeficiency conditions, such as CD4 depletion in cancer patients induced by chemotherapy and irradiation. CD4 T cells thus play a central role in the maintenance of lymphoid tissue structure necessary for their own homeostasis and reconstitution.

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Effective Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Targeting of Persistent HIV-1 during Antiretroviral Therapy Requires Priming of Naive CD8+T Cells

mBio ◽

10.1128/mbio.00473-16 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Kellie N. Smith ◽

Robbie B. Mailliard ◽

Paolo A. Piazza ◽

Will Fischer ◽

Bette T. Korber ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cells ◽

Dendritic Cells ◽

T Cell ◽

Antiretroviral Therapy ◽

Memory T Cells ◽

Naive T Cells ◽

Naïve T Cells ◽

Infected Cells ◽

Ifn Γ ◽

Hiv 1

ABSTRACTCuring HIV-1 infection will require elimination of persistent cellular reservoirs that harbor latent virus in the face of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Proposed immunotherapeutic strategies to cure HIV-1 infection include enhancing lysis of these infected cells by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). A major challenge in this strategy is overcoming viral immune escape variants that have evaded host immune control. Here we report that naive CD8+T cells from chronic HIV-1-infected participants on long-term cART can be primed by dendritic cells (DC). These DC must be mature, produce high levels of interleukin 12p70 (IL-12p70), be responsive to CD40 ligand (CD40L), and be loaded with inactivated, autologous HIV-1. These DC-primed CD8+T cell responders produced high levels of gamma interferon (IFN-γ) in response to a broad range of both conserved and variable regions of Gag and effectively killed CD4+T cell targets that were either infected with the autologous latent reservoir-associated virus or loaded with autologous Gag peptides. In contrast, HIV-1-specific memory CD8+T cells stimulated with autologous HIV-1-loaded DC produced IFN-γ in response to a narrow range of conserved and variable Gag peptides compared to the primed T cells and most notably, displayed significantly lower cytolytic function. Our findings highlight the need to selectively induce new HIV-1-specific CTL from naive precursors while avoiding activation of existing, dysfunctional memory T cells in potential curative immunotherapeutic strategies for HIV-1 infection.IMPORTANCECurrent immunotherapeutic approaches aim to enhance antiviral immunity against the HIV-1 reservoir; however, it has yet to be shown whether T cells from persons on cART can recognize and eliminate virus-infected cells. We show that in persons on cART a personalized medicine approach using their dendritic cells to stimulate their naive T cells induces potent effector CTLin vitrothat recognize and eradicate HIV-1-infected CD4+T cells. Additionally, we show that the same stimulation of existing memory T cells results in cytokine secretion but limited effector function. Our study demonstrates that the naive T cell repertoire can recognize persistent HIV-1 during cART and supports immunotherapy strategies for an HIV-1 cure that targets naive T cells, rather than existing, dysfunctional, memory T cells.

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Immune Reconstitution During the First Year of Antiretroviral Therapy of HIV-1-Infected Adults in Rural Burkina Faso

The Open AIDS Journal ◽

10.2174/1874613601206010016 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 16-25 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Fabrice Tiba ◽

Frans Nauwelaers ◽

Siaka Traoré ◽

Boubacar Coulibaly ◽

Thierry Ouedraogo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cells ◽

T Cell ◽

Antiretroviral Therapy ◽

Burkina Faso ◽

T Cell Activation ◽

Cell Activation ◽

Naive T Cells ◽

Naïve T Cells ◽

Cell Counts ◽

Hiv 1

There are no data on the outcome of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in HIV-infected adults in rural Burkina Faso. We therefore assessed CD4+ T-cell counts and HIV-1 plasma viral load (VL), the proportion of naive T-cells (co-expressing CCR7 and CD45RA) and T-cell activation (expression of CD95 or CD38) in 61 previously untreated adult patients from Nouna, Burkina Faso, at baseline and 2 weeks, 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after starting therapy. Median CD4+ T-cell counts increased from 174 (10th-90th percentile: 33-314) cells/µl at baseline to 300 (114- 505) cells/µl after 3 months and 360 (169-562) cells/µl after 12 months of HAART. Median VL decreased from 5.8 (4.6- 6.6) log10 copies/ml at baseline to 1.6 (1.6-2.3) log10 copies/ml after 12 months. Early CD4+ T-cell recovery was accompanied by a reduction of the expression levels of CD95 and CD38 on T-cells. Out of 42 patients with complete virological follow-up under HAART, 19 (45%) achieved concordant good immunological (gain of ≥100 CD4+ T-cells/µl above baseline) and virological (undetectable VL) responses after 12 months of treatment (intention-to-treat analysis). Neither a decreased expression of the T-cell activation markers CD38 and CD95, nor an increase in the percentage of naive T-cells reliably predicted good virological treatment responses in patients with good CD4+ T-cell reconstitution. Repeated measurement of CD4+ T-cell counts during HAART remains the most important parameter for immunologic monitoring. Substitution of repeated VL testing by determination of T-cell activation levels (e.g., CD38 expression on CD8+ T-cells) should be applied with caution.

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Limited expression of R5-tropic HIV-1 in CCR5-positive type 1–polarized T cells explained by their ability to produce RANTES, MIP-1α, and MIP-1β

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v95.4.1167.004k11_1167_1174 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 95 (4) ◽

pp. 1167-1174 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

Francesco Annunziato ◽

Grazia Galli ◽

Filomena Nappi ◽

Lorenzo Cosmi ◽

Roberto Manetti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cells ◽

T Cell ◽

Memory T Cells ◽

Receptor Expression ◽

Th2 Cells ◽

Th1 Cells ◽

Naive T Cells ◽

Naïve T Cells ◽

Viral Spread ◽

Hiv 1

Human T helper (Th) cells (Th1- or Th2-oriented memory T cells as well as Th1- or Th2-polarized naive T cells) were infected in vitro with an R5-tropic HIV-1 strain (BaL) and assessed for their profile of cytokine production, CCR5 receptor expression, and HIV-1 p24 antigen (p24 Ag) production. Higher p24 Ag production was found in CCR5-negative Th2-like memory T cells than in CCR5-positive Th1-like memory T cells. By contrast, p24 Ag production was higher in Th1-polarized activated naive T cells in the first 4 days after infection. However, p24 Ag production in Th1-polarized T cells became comparable or even lower than the production in Th2-polarized populations later in infection or when the cells were infected with HIV-1BaL after secondary stimulation. The higher levels of p24 Ag production by Th1-polarized naive T cells soon after infection reflected a higher virus entry, as assessed by the single round infection assay using the HIV–chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (HIV-CAT) R5-tropic virus that contains the envelope protein of HIV-1 YU2 strain. The limitation of viral spread in the Th1-polarized populations, despite the initial higher level of T-cell entry of R5-tropic strains, was due to the ability of Th1 cells to produce greater amounts of β-chemokines than Th2 cells. In fact, an inverse correlation was observed between Th1-polarized naive T cells and Th1-like memory-activated T cells in regards to p24 Ag production and the release of the following CCR5-binding chemokines: regulated on activation normal T expressed and secreted (RANTES), macrophage inflammatory protein–1 (MIP-1), and MIP-1β. Moreover, infection with the HIV-1BaL strain of Th1-polarized T cells in the presence of a mixture of anti-RANTES, anti–MIP-1, and anti–MIP-1β neutralizing antibodies resulted in a significant increase of HIV-1 expression. These findings suggest that Th1-type responses may favor CD4+ T-cell infection by R5-tropic HIV-1 strains, but HIV-1 spread in Th1 cells is limited by their ability to produce CCR5-binding chemokines.

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