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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

HIV, immune system, follicular dendritic cells, FDC, viral disease

College

Life Sciences

Department

Microbiology and Molecular Biology

Abstract

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has become a world wild epidemic affecting millions of people across the globe. Even in the face of potent antiviral drugs which are only available in first world countries, HIV continues to evade intervention strategies and eventually destroy the body’s immune system. During the longest stage of HIV disease, clinical latency, much of active infection is confined to the germinal centers of secondary lymphoid tissue (1). Here HIV is trapped on the surface of follicular dendritic cells (FDC) which reside in this region of all secondary lymphoid organs (2). Large amounts of HIV localize on FDC in the form of immune complexes and even in the presence of high concentrations of neutralizing antibody remain highly infectious (3). Our lab has obtained preliminary data further supporting the importance of FDC in HIV infection. These findings suggest that FDC increase HIV infection/replication in T-cells some 200-fold. However, little is known about the interactions between FDC and T-lymphocytes in viral infection. We hypothesize that FDC increase HIV co-receptor expression on T-cells, thus, potentiating infection. This along with other viral factors may enhance the T-cell’s chances of infection. Our research seeks to determine if FDC increase CXCR4 expression on CD4+ T-cells.

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