Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) causes Kaposi’s sarcoma and pleural effusion lymphoma. In this study, we show that dendritic cell-specific ICAM-3 grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN; CD209) is a receptor for HHV-8 infection of myeloid DCs and macrophages. DC-SIGN was required for virus attachment to these cells and DC-SIGN-expressing cell lines. HHV-8 binding and infection were blocked by anti-DC-SIGN mAb and soluble DC-SIGN, and mannan, a natural ligand for DC-SIGN. Infection of DCs and macrophages with HHV-8 led to production of viral proteins, with little production of viral DNA, similar to HHV-8 infection of vascular endothelial cells. Infection of DCs resulted in down-regulation of DC-SIGN, a decrease in endocytic activity, and an inhibition of Ag stimulation of CD8+ T cells. We propose that DC-SIGN serves as a portal for immune dysfunction and oncogenesis caused by HHV-8 infection.

Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8We hypothesized that the lack of permissive infection of B cells and B-cell lines with HHV-8 in vitro is related to the differential expression of the appropriate virus entry receptors. Several proteins have been reported to serve as HHV-8 entry receptors (3,25,33). We have shown previously that DC-SIGN, a C-type lectin first identified on dendritic cells (DC) (18), is an entry receptor for HHV-8 on DC and macrophages in vitro (33). DC-SIGN and its isomer DC-SIGNR were initially shown to be restricted in expression in vivo to dermal and lymphatic DC, activated macrophages, and vascular endothelial cells (38,40,44). Recent studies from our laboratory and others have demonstrated that B lymphocytes from peripheral blood and tonsils express DC-SIGN and that this expression significantly increases after B-cell activation mediated by CD40 ligand (CD40L) and interleukin 4 (IL-4) (22,34). These data suggest that DC-SIGN may also serve as an entry receptor on activated B (aB) cells and that its lack of expression on resting B (rB) cells may explain why previous attempts to infect B cells with HHV-8 have been had limited success.In the present study, we show that activated blood and tonsillar B cells expressing DC-SIGN can be productively infected with HHV-8, as determined by an increase in the level of viral DNA, the expression of lytic and latency-associated viral proteins, and the production of infectious virus. HHV-8 infection could be blocked by the pretreatment of the B cells with anti-DC-SIGN monoclonal antibody (MAb). These results are the first evidence of a fully productive infection of B cells and confirm the role of DC-SIGN as an entry receptor for this virus. This model can provide insight into the life cycle of HHV-8 and a better understanding of its pathogenesis.

Infection of T cells by HIV-1 can occur through binding of virus to dendritic cell (DC)-specific ICAM-3 grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN) on dendritic cells and transfer of virus to CD4+ T cells. Here we show that a subset of B cells in the blood and tonsils of normal donors expressed DC-SIGN, and that this increased after stimulation in vitro with interleukin 4 and CD40 ligand, with enhanced expression of activation and co-stimulatory molecules CD23, CD58, CD80, and CD86, and CD22. The activated B cells captured and internalized X4 and R5 tropic strains of HIV-1, and mediated trans infection of T cells. Pretreatment of the B cells with anti–DC-SIGN monoclonal antibody blocked trans infection of T cells by both strains of HIV-1. These results indicate that DC-SIGN serves as a portal on B cells for HIV-1 infection of T cells in trans. Transmission of HIV-1 from B cells to T cells through this DC-SIGN pathway could be important in the pathogenesis of HIV-1 infection.

The ability of HIV-1 to rapidly accumulate mutations provides the virus with an effective means of escaping CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses. Here we describe how subtle alterations in CTL epitopes expressed by naturally occurring HIV-1 variants can result in an incomplete escape from CTL recognition, providing the virus with a selective advantage. Rather than paralyzing the CTL response, these epitope modifications selectively induce the CTL to produce pro-inflammatory cytokines in the absence of target killing. Importantly, instead of dampening the immune response through CTL elimination of variant antigen-expressing immature dendritic cells (iDC), a positive CTL-to-DC immune feedback loop dominates whereby the iDC differentiate into mature pro-inflammatory DC. Moreover, these CTL-programmed DC exhibit a superior capacity to mediate HIV-1 trans-infection of T cells. This discordant induction of CTL helper activity in the absence of killing likely contributes to the chronic immune activation associated with HIV-1 infection, and can be utilized by HIV-1 to promote viral dissemination and persistence. Our findings highlight the need to address the detrimental potential of eliciting dysfunctional cross-reactive memory CTL responses when designing and implementing anti-HIV-1 immunotherapies.

HIV-1-infected nonprogressors (NP) inhibit disease progression for years without antiretroviral therapy. Defining the mechanisms for this resistance to disease progression could be important in determining strategies for controlling HIV-1 infection. Here we show that two types of professional antigen-presenting cells (APC), i.e., dendritic cells (DC) and B lymphocytes, from NP lacked the ability to mediate HIV-1 trans infection of CD4+ T cells. In contrast, APC from HIV-1-infected progressors (PR) and HIV-1-seronegative donors (SN) were highly effective in mediating HIV-1 trans infection. Direct cis infection of T cells with HIV-1 was comparably efficient among NP, PR, and SN. Lack of HIV-1 trans infection in NP was linked to lower cholesterol levels and an increase in the levels of the reverse cholesterol transporter ABCA1 (ATP-binding cassette transporter A1) in APC but not in T cells. Moreover, trans infection mediated by APC from NP could be restored by reconstitution of cholesterol and by inhibiting ABCA1 by mRNA interference. Importantly, this appears to be an inherited trait, as it was evident in APC obtained from NP prior to their primary HIV-1 infection. The present study demonstrates a new mechanism wherein enhanced lipid metabolism in APC results in remarkable control of HIV-1 trans infection that directly relates to lack of HIV-1 disease progression.