Penicillium marneffei-stimulated dendritic cells enhance HIV-1 trans-infection and promote viral infection by activating primary CD4+ T cells

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 6; no. 11; p. e27609
• Main Authors: Qin, Yan, Li, Yuye, Liu, Wan, Tian, Renrong, Guo, Qianqian, Li, Shaoyou, Li, Hongbin, Zhang, Daojun, Zheng, Yongtang, Wu, Li, Lan, Ke, Wang, Jianhua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 2011; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - immunology; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - microbiology; AIDS; Antigens; Biology; Candida; Candida albicans; CD4 antigen; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - cytology; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - microbiology; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - virology; CD81 antigen; Cell adhesion; Compartments; Dendritic Cells; Dendritic Cells - cytology; Dendritic Cells - immunology; Dendritic Cells - microbiology; Dendritic Cells - virology; Endocytosis; Endocytosis - immunology; Gene Expression Regulation; Gene Expression Regulation - immunology; HIV; HIV-1; HIV-1 - metabolism; HIV-1 - pathogenicity; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Host-Pathogen Interactions - immunology; Human immunodeficiency virus; Immune response; Immune system; Immunological Synapses; Immunological Synapses - microbiology; Immunology; Immunopathogenesis; Infections; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 - metabolism; Intracellular Space; Intracellular Space - microbiology; Intracellular Space - virology; Laboratories; Lesions; Life Sciences; Lymphatic system; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; Medicine; Monocytes; Monocytes - cytology; Opportunist infection; Pathogenesis; Pathogens; Penicillium; Penicillium - physiology; Proteolysis; Tuberculosis; Viral infections; Virology; Viruses; Yeast; China
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0027609

Penicillium marneffei (P. marneffei) is considered an indicator pathogen of AIDS, and the endemicity and clinical features of P. marneffei have been described. While, how the co-infection of P. marneffei exacerbate deterioration of the immune response remains poorly understood. Here we isolated P. marneffei from the cutaneous lesions of AIDS patients and analyzed its effects on HIV-1-dendritic cells (DCs) interaction. We demonstrated that the monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDCs) could be activated by both thermally dimorphic forms of P. marneffei for significantly promoting HIV-1 trans-infection of CD4(+) T cells, while these activated MDDCs were refractory to HIV-1 infection. Mechanistically, P. marneffei-activated MDDCs endocytosed large amounts of HIV-1 and sequestrated the internalized viruses into tetrapasnin CD81(+) compartments potentially for proteolysis escaping. The activated MDDCs increased expression of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 and facilitated the formation of DC-T-cell conjunctions, where much more viruses were recruited. Moreover, we found that P. marneffei-stimulated MDDCs efficiently activated resting CD4(+) T cells and induced more susceptible targets for viral infection. Our findings demonstrate that DC function and its interaction with HIV-1 have been modulated by opportunistic pathogens such as P. marneffei for viral dissemination and infection amplification, highlighting the importance of understanding DC-HIV-1 interaction for viral immunopathogenesis elucidation.