To enter the target cell, HIV-1 binds not only CD4 but also a co-receptor β-chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) or α chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4). Limited information is available on the impact of co-receptor usage on HIV-1 replication in monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) and on the homeostasis of this important cellular reservoir. Replication (measured by p24 production) of the CCR5-tropic 81A strain increased up to 10 days post-infection and then reached a plateau.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA paucity of information is available on the activity of protease inhibitors (PI) in chronically-infected monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) and on the kinetics of viral-rebound after PI removal in vitro. To fill this gap, the activity of different concentrations of amprenavir (AMP) was evaluated in chronically-infected MDM by measuring p24-production every day up to 12 days after drug administration and up to seven days after drug removal. Clinically-relevant concentrations of AMP (4 and 20 μM) drastically decreased p24 amount released from chronically-infected MDM from Day 2 up to Day 12 after drug administration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMonocytes/macrophages (M/M) are strategic reservoirs of HIV-1, spreading the virus to other cells and inducing apoptosis in T-lymphocytes, astrocytes and neurons. M/M are commonly infected by R5 HIV-1 strains, which use the chemokine receptor CCR5. D-Ala-peptide T-amide (DAPTA), or Peptide T, named for its high threonine content (ASTTTNYT), is a synthetic peptide comprised of eight amino acids (185-192) of the gp120 V2 region and functions as a viral entry inhibitor by targeting selectively CCR5.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Monocytes/Macrophages (M/M) play a pivotal role as a source of virus during the whole course of HIV-1 infection. Enhanced oxidative stress is involved in the pathogenesis of HIV-1 infection. HIV-1 regulatory proteins induce a reduction of the expression and the activity of MnSOD, the mitochondrial isoform leading to a sustained generation of superoxide anions and peroxynitrite that represent important mediators of HIV-1 replication in M/M.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe entry of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) into the central nervous system (CNS) causes both the establishment of a lifelong viral reservoir in the brain and symptoms of neurological dysfunction that have an AIDS dementia complex (ADC) clinical appearance. Neurological dysfunction in ADC patients still remains an unresolved problem. However, ADC pathogenesis may be a multistep process that starts with HIV invasion of CNS by crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB).
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