scholarly journals HIV efficiently infects T cells from the endometrium and remodels them to promote systemic viral spread

eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tongcui Ma ◽  
Xiaoyu Luo ◽  
Ashley F George ◽  
Gourab Mukherjee ◽  
Nandini Sen ◽  
...  

The female reproductive tract (FRT) is the most common site of infection during HIV transmission to women, but viral remodeling complicates characterization of cells targeted for infection. Here, we report extensive phenotypic analyses of HIV-infected endometrial cells by CyTOF, and use a ‘nearest neighbor’ bioinformatics approach to trace cells to their original pre-infection phenotypes. Like in blood, HIV preferentially targets memory CD4+ T cells in the endometrium, but these cells exhibit unique phenotypes and sustain much higher levels of infection. Genital cell remodeling by HIV includes downregulating TCR complex components and modulating chemokine receptor expression to promote dissemination of infected cells to lymphoid follicles. HIV also upregulates the anti-apoptotic protein BIRC5, which when blocked promotes death of infected endometrial cells. These results suggest that HIV remodels genital T cells to prolong viability and promote viral dissemination and that interfering with these processes might reduce the likelihood of systemic viral spread.

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (21) ◽  
pp. e2104407118
Author(s):  
Jasmine C. Labuda ◽  
Oanh H. Pham ◽  
Claire E. Depew ◽  
Kevin D. Fong ◽  
Bokyung S. Lee ◽  
...  

Anatomical positioning of memory lymphocytes within barrier tissues accelerates secondary immune responses and is thought to be essential for protection at mucosal surfaces. However, it remains unclear whether resident memory in the female reproductive tract (FRT) is required for Chlamydial immunity. Here, we describe efficient generation of tissue-resident memory CD4 T cells and memory lymphocyte clusters within the FRT after vaginal infection with Chlamydia. Despite robust establishment of localized memory lymphocytes within the FRT, naïve mice surgically joined to immune mice, or mice with only circulating immunity following intranasal immunization, were fully capable of resisting Chlamydia infection via the vaginal route. Blocking the rapid mobilization of circulating memory CD4 T cells to the FRT inhibited this protective response. These data demonstrate that secondary protection in the FRT can occur in the complete absence of tissue-resident immune cells. The ability to confer robust protection to barrier tissues via circulating immune memory provides an unexpected opportunity for vaccine development against infections of the FRT.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-40
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Miller ◽  
Ronald S. Veazey

Because HIV is sexually transmitted, there is considerable interest in defining the nature of anti-HIV immunity in the female reproductive tract (FRT) and in developing ways to elicit antiviral immunity in the FRT through vaccination. Although it is assumed that the mucosal immune system of the FRT is of central importance for protection against sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, this arm of the immune system has only recently been studied. Here, we provide a brief review of the role of T cells in the FRT in blocking and facilitating HIV transmission.


mBio ◽  
2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Day ◽  
Rachael L. Hardison ◽  
Belinda L. Spillings ◽  
Jessica Poole ◽  
Joseph A. Jurcisek ◽  
...  

In women, the lower female reproductive tract is the primary site for HIV infection. How HIV traverses the epithelium to infect CD4 T cells in the submucosa is ill-defined.


Blood ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 95 (4) ◽  
pp. 1167-1174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Annunziato ◽  
Grazia Galli ◽  
Filomena Nappi ◽  
Lorenzo Cosmi ◽  
Roberto Manetti ◽  
...  

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.


2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (11) ◽  
pp. 6444-6453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nabanita Biswas ◽  
Marta Rodriguez-Garcia ◽  
Zheng Shen ◽  
Sarah G. Crist ◽  
Jack E. Bodwell ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTTenofovir (TFV) is a reverse transcriptase inhibitor used in microbicide preexposure prophylaxis trials to prevent HIV infection. Recognizing that changes in cytokine/chemokine secretion and nucleotidase biological activity can influence female reproductive tract (FRT) immune protection against HIV infection, we tested the hypothesis that TFV regulates immune protection in the FRT. Epithelial cells, fibroblasts, CD4+T cells, and CD14+cells were isolated from the endometrium (Em), endocervix (Cx), and ectocervix (Ecx) following hysterectomy. The levels of proinflammatory cytokines (macrophage inflammatory protein 3α [MIP-3α], interleukin 8 [IL-8], and tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α]), the expression levels of specific nucleotidases, and nucleotidase biological activities were analyzed in the presence or absence of TFV. TFV influenced mRNA and/or protein cytokines and nucleotidases in a cell- and site-specific manner. TFV significantly enhanced IL-8 and TNF-α secretion by epithelial cells from the Em and Ecx but not from the Cx. In contrast, in response to TFV, IL-8 secretion was significantly decreased in Em and Cx fibroblasts but increased with fibroblasts from the Ecx. When incubated with CD4+T cells from the FRT, TFV increased IL-8 (Em and Ecx) and TNF-α (Cx and Ecx) secretion levels. Moreover, when incubated with Em CD14+cells, TFV significantly increased MIP-3α, IL-8, and TNF-α secretion levels relative to those of the controls. In contrast, nucleotidase biological activities were significantly decreased by TFV in epithelial (Cx) and CD4+T cells (Em) but increased in fibroblasts (Em). Our findings indicate that TFV modulates proinflammatory cytokines, nucleotidase gene expression, and nucleotidase biological activity in epithelial cells, fibroblasts, CD4+T cells, and CD14+cells at distinct sites within the FRT.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara L. Shacklett

As our understanding of mucosal immunity increases, it is becoming clear that the host response to HIV-1 is more complex and nuanced than originally believed. The mucosal landscape is populated with a variety of specialized cell types whose functions include combating infectious agents while preserving commensal microbiota, maintaining barrier integrity, and ensuring immune homeostasis. Advances in multiparameter flow cytometry, gene expression analysis and bioinformatics have allowed more detailed characterization of these cell types and their roles in host defense than was previously possible. This review provides an overview of existing literature on immunity to HIV-1 and SIVmac in mucosal tissues of the female reproductive tract and the gastrointestinal tract, focusing on major effector cell populations and briefly summarizing new information on tissue-resident memory T cells, Treg, Th17, Th22 and innate lymphocytes (ILC), subsets that have been studied primarily in the gastrointestinal mucosa.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel A.B. Mercado ◽  
Wuying Du ◽  
Priyangi A. Malaviarachchi ◽  
Jessica I. Gann ◽  
Lin-Xi Li

AbstractProtective immunity to the obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydia is thought to rely on CD4 T cell-dependent IFNγ production. Nevertheless, whether IFNγ is produced by other cellular source during Chlamydia infection and how CD4 T cell-dependent and -independent IFNγ contribute differently to host resistance has not been carefully evaluated. In this study, we dissect the requirements of IFNγ produced by innate immune cells and CD4 T cells for resolution of Chlamydia muridarum female reproductive tract (FRT) infection. After C. muridarum intravaginal inoculation, IFNγ-deficient and T cell-deficient mice exhibited opposite phenotypes for survival and bacterial shedding at the FRT mucosa, demonstrating the distinct requirements for IFNγ and CD4 T cells in host defense against Chlamydia. In Rag-deficient mice, IFNγ produced by innate lymphocytes (ILCs) accounted for early bacterial containment and prolonged survival in the absence of adaptive immunity. Although group I ILCs are potent IFNγ producers, we found that mature NK cells and ILC1 were not the sole source for innate IFNγ in response to Chlamydia. T cell adoptive transfer experiments revealed that WT and IFNγ-deficient CD4 T cells were equally capable of mediating effective bacterial killing in the FRT during the early stage of Chlamydia infection. Together, our results revealed that innate IFNγ is essential for preventing systemic Chlamydia dissemination, whereas IFNγ produced by CD4 T cells is largely dispensable at the FRT mucosa.


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