Viruses, Vol. 16, Pages 55: EcoHIV-Infected Mice Show No Signs of Platelet Activation

Viruses, Vol. 16, Pages 55: EcoHIV-Infected Mice Show No Signs of Platelet Activation Viruses doi: 10.3390/v16010055 Authors: Hammodah R. Alfar Dominic Ngima Nthenge-Ngumbau Kathryn E. Saatman Sidney W. Whiteheart Platelets express several surface receptors that could interact with different viruses. To understand the mechanisms of HIV-1′s interaction with platelets, we chose the EcoHIV model. While EcoHIV is an established model for neuroAIDS, its effects on platelets are ill-defined. Our results indicate that EcoHIV behaves differently from HIV-1 and is cleared from circulation after 48 h post-infection. The EcoHIV course of infection resembles an HIV-1 infection under the effects of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) since infected mice stayed immunocompetent and the virus was readily detected in the spleen. EcoHIV-infected mice failed to become thrombocytopenic and showed no signs of platelet activation. One explanation is that mouse platelets lack the EcoHIV receptor, murine Cationic Amino acid Transporter-1 (mCAT-1). No mCAT-1 was detected on their surface, nor was any mCAT-1 mRNA detected. Thus, mouse platelets would not bind or become activated by EcoHIV. However, impure virus preparations, generated by Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) precipitation, do activate platelets, suggesting that nonspecific PEG-precipitates may contain other platelet activators (e.g., histones and cell debris). Our data do not support the concept that platelets, thro...
Source: Viruses - Category: Virology Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research