Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are remnants of ancient infectious agents that have integrated into the human genome. Under normal circumstances, HERVs are functionally defective or controlled by host factors. In HIV-1-infected individuals, intracellular defense mechanisms are compromised. We hypothesized that HIV-1 infection would remove or alter controls on HERV activity. Expression of HERV could potentially stimulate a T cell response to HERV antigens, and in regions of HIV-1/HERV similarity, these T cells could be cross-reactive. We determined that the levels of HERV production in HIV-1-positive individuals exceed those of HIV-1-negative controls. To investigate the impact of HERV activity on specific immunity, we examined T cell responses to HERV peptides in 29 HIV-1-positive and 13 HIV-1-negative study participants. We report T cell responses to peptides derived from regions of HERV detected by ELISPOT analysis in the HIV-1-positive study participants. We show an inverse correlation between anti-HERV T cell responses and HIV-1 plasma viral load. In HIV-1-positive individuals, we demonstrate that HERV-specific T cells are capable of killing cells presenting their cognate peptide. These data indicate that HIV-1 infection leads to HERV expression and stimulation of a HERV-specific CD8+ T cell response. HERV-specific CD8+ T cells have characteristics consistent with an important role in the response to HIV-1 infection: a phenotype similar to that of T cells responding to an effectively controlled virus (cytomegalovirus), an inverse correlation with HIV-1 plasma viral load, and the ability to lyse cells presenting their target peptide. These characteristics suggest that elicitation of anti-HERV-specific immune responses is a novel approach to immunotherapeutic vaccination. As endogenous retroviral sequences are fixed in the human genome, they provide a stable target, and HERV-specific T cells could recognize a cell infected by any HIV-1 viral variant. HERV-specific immunity is an important new avenue for investigation in HIV-1 pathogenesis and vaccine design.
Type 1 long-interspersed nuclear elements (L1s) are autonomous retrotransposable elements that retain the potential for activity in the human genome but are suppressed by host factors. Retrotransposition of L1s into chromosomal DNA can lead to genomic instability, whereas reverse transcription of L1 in the cytosol has the potential to activate innate immune sensors. We hypothesized that HIV-1 infection would compromise cellular control of L1 elements, resulting in the induction of retrotransposition events. Here, we show that HIV-1 infection enhances L1 retrotransposition in Jurkat cells in a Vif-and Vpr-dependent manner. In primary CD4؉ cells, HIV-1 infection results in the accumulation of L1 DNA, at least the majority of which is extrachromosomal. These data expose an unrecognized interaction between HIV-1 and endogenous retrotransposable elements, which may have implications for the innate immune response to HIV-1 infection, as well as for HIV-1-induced genomic instability and cytopathicity. L 1 element DNA sequences comprise approximately 17% of the human genome (1, 2). Although the bulk of these sequences are in the form of short 5= truncated insertions, an estimated 100 full-length intact elements are present (3, 4). These intact L1 elements represent the only retrotransposons encoded by the human genome known to be capable of autonomous replication (4-7). Full-length L1 elements are ϳ6 kb in length, comprising a 5=-untranslated region (5=UTR) two open reading frames (ORF1 and ORF2) and a 3=UTR ending in a poly(A) tail (8). ORF1 encodes a 40-kDa protein with RNA chaperone activity, while ORF2 encodes a 150-kDa protein which possesses the reverse transcriptase (RT) and endonuclease functions required for retrotransposition (6,(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17). Productive retrotransposition is thought to occur by a mechanism termed target-primed reverse transcription (TPRT), where reverse transcription is primed against genomic DNA at the insertion site and thus occurs in concert with integration (18)(19)(20).Several cases of genetic disease have been traced to gene disruptions caused by L1 retrotransposition events in germ line cells, and L1 retrotransposition in somatic cells has been implicated in oncogenesis and cancer progression (21-26). L1 retrotransposition may also play a role in normal physiology. Previous studies have demonstrated the ability for tagged, engineered L1 elements to retrotranspose in neural progenitor cells, and this, supported by quantitative PCR (qPCR) data showing elevated copy numbers of L1 elements in the adult human brain, has led to the suggestion that L1 retrotransposition may play a role in the generation of neuronal somatic mosaicism (27, 28). The vast amount of L1 element sequence fixed in the human genome has, however, presented a technical challenge to the isolation of novel endogenous L1 genomic insertions in somatic cells.Although TPRT appears to be the primary mechanism by which novel genomic L1 insertions are generated, there is considerable evidence that cytosolic...
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is a leading cause of mortality worldwide from an infectious agent. Natural killer T (NKT) cells recognize mycobacterial antigens and contribute to anti-MTB immunity in mouse models. NKT cells were measured in subjects with pulmonary tuberculosis, MTB-exposed individuals, and healthy controls. NKT cell levels are selectively lower in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from individuals with pulmonary tuberculosis than in both MTB-exposed subjects and healthy control subjects. This apparent loss of NKT cells from the peripheral blood is sustained during the 6 months after the initiation of MTB treatment. These findings indicate that NKT cells may be an important component of antituberculosis immunity.
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