Important note: Information in this article was accurate in June 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.AIDSWEEKLY Plus; June 24, 2002
Michael Greer, Senior Medical Writer
Dr. Malgorzata Simm and colleagues at Columbia University's St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City and the State University of New York Health Science Center in Brooklyn investigated the possibility of "induction of HIV-1 resistance and synthesis of resistance factors in immortal CD4-positive T lymphocytes."
By infecting such cells with a specially attenuated form of HIV, Simm and coauthors were able to trigger the production of potent viral resistance factors.
The researchers grew immortalized SupT1 cells in culture with primary lymphocytes infected by a modified version of the HIV NL4-3 strain. These viruses were attenuated by defects introduced into their vif gene, according to the report.
The resulting cell line, dubbed R1, resisted HIV infection by disrupting viral RNA synthesis driven by the HIV Tat protein. Moreover, R1 cells secreted soluble factors that protected uninfected lymphocytes and shut down viral replication in acutely infected cells, study data showed.
Resistance factors produced by R1 cells prevented viral transcription as well as RNA synthesis, but did not prevent HIV cell entry or other viral functions (Induction of secreted human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) resistance factors in CD4-positive T lymphocytes by attenuated HIV-1 infection, Virology 2002 Mar 1;294(1):1-12.
"Soluble factors produced by HIV-1-resistant, immortal R1 cells may form the basis of new approaches to control HIV-1 infection," Simm and colleagues concluded.
Key points reported in this study include:
This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports.
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