Roughly 25% of HIV-infected persons who receive anti-retroviral therapy may experience a delayed and incomplete recovery of CD4+ T cells. These persons have been designated immune failures and are likely to have increased risk of complications. The proposed studies explore a potential mechanism of immune failure in HIV disease that centers on the immunoregulatory activities of type I interferon, an anti-viral innate defense molecule that is induced in HIV disease. We propose that type I interferon may act to suppress T cell proliferation and to promote T cell sequestration in lymph nodes during HIV infection and that these effects could contribute to poor immunologic recovery of T cells after initiation of therapy. We will focus our studies on understanding the potential for type I interfern to cause impairments in T cell responses to the homeostatic cytokine, interleukin-7 and to the lymph node egress mediator, S1P. By combining cell signaling analyses with transcriptomics, we will identify key molecular mediators of type I interferon activity and we will explore these effects in cells from HIV+ donors who have experienced immunologic failure while receiving anti-retroviral therapy. These studies will provide insight into mechanisms of immune failure in HIV disease and may uncover novel molecular pathways of type I interferon anti-proliferative and immunomodulatory effects.

Public Health Relevance

Immune failure (poor CD4+ T cell recovery despite full virologic suppression) is not uncommon in HIV infected persons who are treated with combination anti-retroviral therapy. These studies investigate possible mechanisms to explain immune failure in HIV disease. The hypothesis states that an anti-viral molecule, type I interferon, is systemically increased in immune failure subjects, and that this cytokine interferes with the capacity of the immune system to reconstitute CD4+ T cells. In particular, we propose that the anti-proliferative activity of type I interferon, along with its potential to cause T cell sequestration in lymph nodes, could contribute to immune failure. If this hypothesis is correct, then neutralization of type I interferon might enhance T cell recovery in HIV infected patients who experience immune failure. Furthermore, by identifying the molecular mechanism of type I interferon activity, it may be possible to design interventions that circumvent the undesirable activities of type I interferon while preserving other innate immune functions of this cytokine.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
5R21AI104480-02
Application #
8660285
Study Section
AIDS Immunology and Pathogenesis Study Section (AIP)
Program Officer
Lawrence, Diane M
Project Start
2013-05-10
Project End
2015-04-30
Budget Start
2014-05-01
Budget End
2015-04-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Case Western Reserve University
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
City
Cleveland
State
OH
Country
United States
Zip Code
44106
Nguyen, Thao P; Shukla, Supriya; Asaad, Robert et al. (2016) Responsiveness to IL-7 but not to IFN-? is diminished in CD4+ T cells from treated HIV infected patients who experience poor CD4+ T-cell recovery. AIDS 30:2033-42
Nguyen, Thao P; Bazdar, Doug A; Mudd, Joseph C et al. (2015) Interferon-? inhibits CD4 T cell responses to interleukin-7 and interleukin-2 and selectively interferes with Akt signaling. J Leukoc Biol 97:1139-46
Bazdar, Douglas A; Kalinowska, Magdalena; Panigrahi, Soumya et al. (2015) Recycled IL-7 Can Be Delivered to Neighboring T Cells. J Immunol 194:4698-704