Important note: Information in this article was accurate in July 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.AIDSWEEKLY Plus; July 22, 2002
Michael Greer, Senior Medical Writer
"In addition to genetic factors, acquired immune responses elicited by repeated exposure to HIV antigens may contribute to protection" enjoyed by exposed-uninfected (EU) subjects, according to Lucinda Furci and colleagues working at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan.
Noncytotoxic antiviral activity from CD8+ T cells seems to play an important role in EU individuals' ability to ward off HIV infection, Furci and coauthors argued.
Peripheral blood CD8 cells were taken from 16 EU subjects in monogamous, heterosexual relationships with HIV patients. These unstimulated CD8 cells were then cultured with CD4 cells infected with macrophage-, T cell-, or dual-tropic HIV strains, according to the report.
Almost all of the CD8 cells harvested from EU individuals potently blocked replication and proliferation by all of the HIV strains used, study data showed. The inhibitory effects of these immune cells were attenuated - but still significant - in cultures containing a semipermeable membrane to segregate CD8 cells from infected CD4 cells, suggesting that soluble factors help mediate the observed viral suppression.
Antiviral activity was well preserved in CD8 cells taken from patients without recent HIV exposure although 4 or more years of abstinence was associated with some loss of efficacy (Non-cytotoxic inhibition of HIV-1 infection by unstimulated CD8+ T lymphocytes from HIV-exposed-uninfected individuals, AIDS 2002 May 3;16(7):1003-8.
"These data demonstrate that CD8+ T cells from EU individuals exert a strong, broad-spectrum HIV-suppressive activity," Furci and colleagues concluded, "suggesting a role of noncytotoxic antiviral mechanisms in resistance to HIV-1 infection."
The corresponding author for this report is Lucinda Furci, Department of Biological and Technological Research (DIBIT), San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Human Virology Unit, Via Olgettina 58, I-20132 Milan, Italy.
Key points reported in this study include:
This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports.
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