Regulatory Mechanisms Controlling HIV-1 Induced Immune Activation (Paperback)

The most widely accepted theory for the massive depletion of CD4] T cells in HIV-1 infection involves depletion of non-infected cells through immune activation. A specialized cell population, the T regulatory cells (Tregs), exists to help limit chronic inflammation by suppressing the immune activation induced by infectious diseases. We used an SIV/pigtailed macaque model of HIV-1 disease to elucidate the role of Tregs in HIV-1-induced depletion of CD4+ T cells in lymphoid tissue during the acute phase of infection. From this model, we learned that Tregs play a significant role in controlling the apoptotic loss of CD4+ T cells resulting from high levels of generalized immune activation. Using assays developed in the macaque model, we next studied the role of Tregs in elite suppressors who are HIaV-1-infected individuals that maintain normal CD4+ T cell counts and control viremia without therapy. The assays developed in our laboratory should be especially useful to the future studies of both virologists and immunologists.