Monocyte and CD4+ T-cell antiviral and innate responses associated with HIV-1 inflammation and cognitive impairment

The objective of this study was to identify phenotypic and transcriptional changes in blood monocytes and CD4+ T cells in HIV-1-infected and uninfected individuals and elucidate processes associated with neurocognitive impairment. Design: A group of chronically HIV-1-infected Thai individuals (n = 19) were selected for comparison with healthy donor controls (n = 10). Infected participants were further classified as cognitively normal (n = 10) or with HAND (n = 9). Peripheral monocytes and CD4+ T cells were phenotyped by flow cytometry and simultaneously isolated for multiplex qPCR-targeted gene expression profiling directly ex vivo. The frequency of HIV-1 RNA-positive cells was estimated by limiting dilution cell sorting. Results: Expression of genes and proteins involved in cellular activation and proinflammatory immune responses was increased in monocytes and CD4+ T cells from HIV-1-infected relative to uninfected individuals. Gene expression profiles of both CD4+ T cells and monocytes correlated with soluble markers of inflammation in the periphery (P 
Source: AIDS - Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: BASIC SCIENCE Source Type: research