Pischedda F, Bottaro G, Cappa PM; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 1991 Jun 16-21; 7: 141 (abstract no. W.A.1199).
Clinica di Malattie Infettive, Universita di Torino
T cell activation can be distinguished in two steps, during the first the cells acquire sensitivity to interleukin-2 (IL-2) and later T cells acquired the capacity of produce IL.2. Virus-infected lymphocytes from HIV positive subjects were tested at these two levels of T cell differentiation, compared to normal T cells from healthy donors. To investigate the mechanisms of T cell activation lectin mitogens have been extensively used to induce T cell proliferation and this experimental system was chosen to analyse IL.2-reactivity and IL.2-activity of HIV infected T cells. T lymphocytes were incubated for 7 hours at 37 degrees C. in the presence of Concanavalin A (Con A). Subsequently every hour the cells were washed and recultivated in IL.2 containing-conditioned medium. We observe that normal T cells acquire already responsiveness to IL.2 after exactly 3 hours pre-activation and we detect IL.2-production in cell culture supernatants in less than 6 hours of mitogen pulse. In contrast, we found that virus-infected lymphocytes stimulated with Con A were significantly decreasing the sensibility to IL.2 and a quantitative difference was observed in IL.2 activity, compared with normal T cells. Our experimental data show that the early phase of T cell differentiation is defective in HIV-infected immunocompetent cells by either decreasing the number of T cells responding to IL.2 or by changing the kinetics with which a constant fraction of the cells responds.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- AIDS Vaccines
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Concanavalin A
- HIV Infections
- HIV Seropositivity
- Interleukin-2
- Lymphocyte Activation
- Research
- T-Lymphocytes
- immunology
Other ID:
UI: 102192402
From Meeting Abstracts