451

ACTIVATED CD34-DERIVED LANGERHANS CELLS MEDIATE TRANSINFECTION WITH HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS.

Fahrbach1, K.M., Barry1,2, S.M., Ayehunie3, S., Lamore3, S., Klausner3, M. and Hope1, T.J. 1Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611; 2Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60612; and 3MatTek Corporation, 200 Homer Avenue, Ashland, Massachusetts 01721
Abstract

This study by researchers at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine demonstrated that it was possible to create and isolate a Langerhans Cells (LCs) subset of MatTek Human Dendritic Cells (DC-100) that exhibited the morphological, ultrastructural and cell surface markers exhibited by Langerhans Cells in vivo, and that these LCs represented a reasonable model system for the analysis of the interaction of HIV with LCs in vivo. Langerhans cells (LCs) are a subset of dendritic cells (DCs) that reside within epidermal and mucosal tissue. Because of their location, LCs are potentially the first cells to encounter human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) during sexual transmission. In this study, researchers at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine report that LCs purified from CD34+-derived DCs can facilitate the transinfection of target cells but only after activation. Virions were observed in an intracellular compartment that contains several tetraspanins, in addition to the unique LC markers langerin and CD1a. This reveals that the trafficking of HIV within LCs is reminiscent of that which occurs in mature monocyte-derived DCs and that it varies with the activation state of the cell. The observation that activated LCs can mediate transinfection suggests a potential role for these cells in the known increase in HIV transmission associated with sexually transmitted infections that would cause inflammation of the genital lining.

Keywords

Activation, CD1a, CD34+-derived DCs, Dendritic cells, Epidermal tissue, Genital lining, Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Langerhans cells, Langerin, Mucosal tissue, Sexual transmission, Sexually transmitted infections, Tetraspanins, Transinfection

Materials Tested

CD1s blocking antibody, DC-100 cells, HIV-1, LPS, Luciferase assay reagent, Monocyte-derived DCs (MDDCs), TNF-α, Trypsin treatment

Request a copy of this paper, click here.