Association of a pool of HIV-1 with erythrocytes in vivo: a cohort study

Interactions of Infectious HIV-1 Virions with Erythrocytes: Implications for HIV-1 Pathogenesis and Infectivity

“…In this study, that used PCR detection techniques, the previous conclusions of Hess et al (2002) were disputed in that virus was not detected on the purified erythrocytes (Fierer et al, 2007). Although the reason for the discrepancy with the previous study is unclear , Fierer et al (2007) suggested that the previously studied cell population of Hess et al (2002) might have contained a higher level of contaminating CD4(+) lymphocytes that were removed by Fierer et al by using more stringent purification techniques. In a third recent study, the presence of p24-antigen bound to highly purified erythrocytes from HIV-1-positive individuals was reported (Garcia et al, 2011).…”

“…Although the reasons for the failure of Fierer et al (2007) to detect erythrocyte-bound HIV-1 are unknown, in view of the study by Hess et al, 2002 and the confirmatory results of Garcia et al (2011), and when this it taken in the context of the several studies that have demonstrated binding of HIV-1 to erythrocytes in vitro, it seems likely that infectious HIV-1 virions are present on circulating erythrocytes in HIV-1 infected persons. In view of the recent in vitro evidence by Beck et al (2011) that erythrocyte-bound HIV-1 may sometimes be more difficult to neutralize with antibodies than cell-free HIV-1, and that both inhibition and enhancement can occur with antibodymediated innate immunity in the presence of C , i t a l s o s e e m s l i k e l y t h a t c i r c u l a t i n g erythrocytes may represent an attachment site for infectious HIV-1 that is relatively protected from attack by antibodies and C. It is possible that further research will identify means to induce antibodies that block trans infection by erythrocyte-bound HIV-1.…”

“…Three reports have examined whether HIV-1, or markers of the presence of HIV-1, can be detected on erythrocytes obtained from infected individuals. In the first study, Hess and colleagues reported that infectious HIV-1 was bound to erythrocytes via immune complexes (Hess et al, 2002;Levy, 2002). Hess et al showed that HIV-1 RNA and infectious virus was bound to erythrocytes circulating in blood of HIV-1-infected patients.…”

“…In a second study more highly purified erythrocytes were used from 13 HIV-1 infected but aviremic patients, 11 of whom were receiving ART and 2 of whom were "long-term nonprogressors" who were not receiving ART (Fierer et al, 2007). In this study, that used PCR detection techniques, the previous conclusions of Hess et al (2002) were disputed in that virus was not detected on the purified erythrocytes (Fierer et al, 2007). Although the reason for the discrepancy with the previous study is unclear , Fierer et al (2007) suggested that the previously studied cell population of Hess et al (2002) might have contained a higher level of contaminating CD4(+) lymphocytes that were removed by Fierer et al by using more stringent purification techniques.…”

The good and evil of complement activation in HIV-1 infection

“…121 Clinical evidence indicates that a pool of HIV-1 is associated with erythrocytes even after long-term suppression of viral RNA in plasma, which may play a role in HIV-1 replication or release in these individuals. 122 Although B cells are not readily infected by HIV, they are similar to follicular dendritic cells in their capacity to serve as extracellular reservoirs for HIV-1. B cells possess the capability of circulating in peripheral blood and migrating through tissues where they can potentially interact with and pass virus to T cells.…”