Interleukin-6 and glucocorticoids synergistically induce human immunodeficiency virus type-1 expression in chronically infected U1 cells by a long terminal repeat independent post-transcriptional mechanism.

BACKGROUND: Glucocorticoids (GC) such as dexamethasone (Dex) can directly upregulate human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) replication in acutely infected cells and potentiate HIV expression from chronically infected promonocytic U1 cells stimulated with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). We have here investigated the potential effect of Dex in U1 cells stimulated with interleukin-6 (IL-6), a cytokine inducing virus expression by acting mostly at a post-transcriptional level on the virus life cycle. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Virus production in culture supernatants was evaluated by reverse transcriptase (RT) activity. GC receptor expression was tested by both binding of [3H]-Dexamethasone 21-mesylate and Northern blotting. Cell-associated HIV protein expression was analyzed by Western blotting, whereas both HIV and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) RNA accumulation were evaluated by Northern blotting. HIV transcription was tested by long terminal repeat (LTR) chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) assay after transient transfection of U1 or U937 cells. Formation of activating protein-1 (AP-1) DNA binding complex in nuclear cell extracts was visualized by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), whereas ERK1/2 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylation was studied by Western blotting. RESULTS: IL-6 and Dex synergistically induced HIV expression in U1 cells, and this effect was blocked by RU 486. No substantial HIV RNA accumulation was demonstrated in U1 cells co-stimulated with IL-6 and Dex, whereas IL-6 upregulated the expression of MCP-1 RNA, and this effect was inhibited by Dex. In contrast, Dex potentiated IL-6 induced activation of AP-1 and ERK1/2 MAPK phosphorylation, as revealed by EMSA. HIV-1 LTR driven transcription was observed in U1 cells stimulated with TNF-alpha and this effect was potentiated by Dex. In sharp contrast, no induction of LTR-directed CAT activity was observed in transfected U1 cells (or in their parental uninfected U937 cells) stimulated with IL-6 and Dex either alone or in combination. CONCLUSIONS: High levels of virion production can be induced in latently infected cells by stimulation with IL-6 and Dex in the absence of activation of the HIV LTR or viral transcription in spite of activation of both ERK1/2 MAPK and AP-1. These findings suggest the existence of LTR-independent pathways influenced by cytokine and GC through which HIV can maintain substantial levels of protein expression and virion production.

Differential effects of CD40 ligand/trimer stimulation on the ability of dendritic cells to replicate and transmit HIV infection: evidence for CC-chemokine-dependent and -independent mechanisms.

The role of exogenous stimulation of CD40 by CD40 ligand (CD40L) in dendritic cell (DC) maturation, CC-chemokine production, and CCR5 receptor expression was examined using a soluble trimeric CD40L agonist protein (CD40LT). Stimulation of monocyte-derived DCs with CD40LT enhanced the production of the CC-chemokines macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1 alpha, MIP-1 beta, and RANTES and diminished surface expression of CCR5. Based on these findings, the functional role of CD40LT stimulation on the ability of DCs to replicate and transmit HIV viral infection was studied. The addition of CD40LT to cocultures of naive CD4+ T cells and autologous DCs (T/DC) infected with the macrophage-tropic isolate, HIVBaL, caused a striking reduction in reverse transcriptase (RT) activity after 10 and 14 days of culture. The addition of a mixture of Abs against CC-chemokines abrogated the decrease in RT activity, demonstrating that the inhibitory effect mediated by CD40LT was CC-chemokine-dependent. In contrast, the presence of CD40LT in T/DC cocultures infected with the T cell-tropic isolate, HIV IIIB, caused an increase in RT activity that was CC-chemokine-independent. Of note, CD40LT stimulation also inhibited RT activity in cultures containing macrophage-tropic virus (HIVBaL)-infected DC only. However, in contrast to the results seen in the T/DC cocultures, CD40LT stimulation inhibited RT activity in cultures of DCs alone in a CC-chemokine-independent manner. Together, these results show that CD40LT stimulation of DCs suppresses HIV replication and transmission to CD4+ T cells by two potentially different mechanisms.

Natural killer cells from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals are an important source of CC-chemokines and suppress HIV-1 entry and replication in vitro.

Macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1alpha, MIP-1beta, and RANTES (regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted), which are the natural ligands of the CC-chemokine receptor CCR5, inhibit replication of MT-2- negative strains of HIV-1 by interfering with the ability of these strains to utilize CCR5 as a coreceptor for entry in CD4(+) cells. The present study investigates the capacity of natural killer (NK) cells isolated from HIV-infected individuals to produce CC-chemokines and to suppress HIV replication in autologous, endogenously infected cells as well as to block entry of MT-2-negative HIV into the CD4(+) T cell line PM-1. NK cells freshly isolated from HIV-infected individuals had a high number of mRNA copies for MIP-1alpha and RANTES. NK cells produced significant amounts of RANTES, MIP-1alpha, and MIP-1beta constitutively, in response to stimulation with IL-2 alone and when they were performing their characteristic lytic activity (K562 killing). After CD16 cross-linking and stimulation with IL-2 or IL-15 NK cells produced CC-chemokines to levels comparable to those produced by anti-CD3-stimulated CD8(+) T cells. Furthermore, CD16 cross-linked NK cells suppressed (49-97%) viral replication in cocultures of autologous CD8/NK-depleted PBMC to a degree similar to that of PHA or anti-CD3-stimulated CD8(+) T cells. In 50% of patients tested, NK-mediated HIV suppression could be abrogated by neutralizing antibodies to MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta and RANTES; in contrast, CD8(+) T cell-mediated suppression was not significantly overcome upon neutralization of CC-chemokines. Supernatants derived from cultures of CD16 cross-linked NK cells stimulated with IL-2 or IL-15 dramatically inhibited entry of a MT-2-negative strain of HIV, BaL, in the CD4(+)CCR5(+) PM-1 T cell line. These data suggest that activated NK cells may be an important source of CC-chemokines in vivo and may suppress HIV replication by CC-chemokine-mediated mechanisms in addition to classic NK-mediated lytic mechanisms.

HIV replication in CD4+ T cells of HIV-infected individuals is regulated by a balance between the viral suppressive effects of endogenous beta-chemokines and the viral inductive effects of other endogenous cytokines.

This study demonstrates that the beta-chemokines macrophage inflammatory proteins 1 alpha and 1 beta (MIP-1 alpha and MIP-1 beta) and, RANTES (regulated on activation, normally T-cell expressed and secreted) inhibit human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) replication in anti-CD3 or recall antigen-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of asymptomatic HIV-infected subjects. Significant levels of beta-chemokines were produced by both CD4+ and CD8+ PBMC subsets from HIV-infected individuals. Neutralization of endogenous MIP-1 alpha, MIP-1 beta, and RANTES did not rescue HIV replication in cultures to which greater than 10% CD8+ T cells had been added, indicating that the HIV suppressor activity of CD8+ T cells cannot be explained entirely by the beta-chemokines. However, significant enhancement of viral replication was observed upon neutralization of endogenous beta-chemokines in CD8-depleted or CD4+ PBMCs from most donors, particularly in cultures with low inducible levels of HIV production. In contrast, certain endogenous proinflammatory cytokines induced HIV replication in these same cells. These data suggest that the levels of HIV replication in CD4+ PBMC reflect the balance of the opposing effects of endogenous suppressive factors, such as the beta-chemokines, and HIV-inducing cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 1 beta.

Modulation of endogenous IL-1 beta and IL-1 receptor antagonist results in opposing effects on HIV expression in chronically infected monocytic cells.

A proportion of HIV-infected individuals experience episodes of localized or systemic bacterial infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria. Many of the clinical side effects of these infections are associated with the production of proinflammatory cytokines, which are induced primarily by LPS, a constituent of the bacterial cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria. The present study examines the mechanisms involved in LPS-mediated induction of HIV expression in U1 cells, a promonocytic cell line chronically infected with HIV. Stimulation of U1 cells by LPS alone induced minimal levels of HIV expression, which was significantly enhanced by granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Costimulation of U1 cells with LPS plus GM-CSF resulted in the accumulation of steady-state levels of HIV RNA; however, only a weak induction of HIV long terminal repeat-driven transcription, which was not associated with the activation of the cellular transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B, was noted. Costimulation of cells with LPS plus GM-CSF induced the production of proinflammatory cytokines, IL-8, IL-1 beta and IL-6, but not TNF-alpha. IL-1 receptor antagonist (ra) inhibited LPS enhancement of HIV expression in GM-CSF-stimulated cells, suggesting that endogenous IL-1 was involved in LPS-mediated viral production. In this regard, anti-inflammatory cytokines inhibited LPS plus GM-CSF-stimulated HIV expression, and this effect closely correlated with inhibition of IL-1 beta release and, in particular, with up-regulation of endogenous IL-1ra production. Thus, the balance between an endogenously produced viral inducer (IL-1 beta ) and an inhibitor (IL-1ra) may represent an important pathway leading to modulation of HIV expression from monocytic cells.

Interleukin 2 induces CD8+ T cell-mediated suppression of human immunodeficiency virus replication in CD4+ T cells and this effect overrides its ability to stimulate virus expression.

The nonlytic suppression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) production from infected CD4+ T cells by CD8+ lymphocytes from HIV-infected individuals is one of the most potent host-mediated antiviral activities observed in vitro. We demonstrate that the pleiotropic cytokine interleukin 2 (IL-2), but not IL-12, is a potent inducer of the CD8+ HIV suppressor phenomenon. IL-2 induces HIV expression in peripheral blood or lymph node mononuclear cells from HIV-infected individuals in the absence of CD8+ T cells. However, IL-2 induces CD8+ T cells to suppress HIV expression when added back to these cultures, and this effect dramatically supersedes the ability to IL-2 to induce HIV expression. Five to 25 times fewer CD8+ cells were required to obtain comparable levels of inhibition of viral production if they were activated in the presence of IL-2 as compared with IL-12 or no exogenous cytokine. Furthermore, IL-2 appeared either to induce a qualitative increase in HIV suppressor cell activity or to increase the relative frequency of suppressor cells in the activated (CD25+) CD8+ populations. Analyses of proviral levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells suggest that CD8+ T cell-mediated lysis of in vivo infected cells is not induced by IL-2. These results have implications for our understanding of the effects of impaired IL-2 production during HIV disease as well as the overall effects of IL-2-based immunotherapy on HIV replication in vivo.

Effect of cellular differentiation on cytokine-induced expression of human immunodeficiency virus in chronically infected promonocytic cells: dissociation of cellular differentiation and viral expression.

Cellular differentiation is thought to play an important role in the susceptibility of monocytic lineage cells to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection as well as in their ability to support virus replication. In addition, virus replication in monocytes/macrophages has been demonstrated in vitro to be strongly modulated by several cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the interaction between cellular differentiation and cytokines in the regulation of HIV expression from chronically infected monocytic lineage cells. U1, a persistently HIV-infected promonocytic cell line, is characterized by low levels of virus expression which can be modulated by several cytokines. 1 alpha,-25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 (Vit.D3), a well-known differentiating agent for myelomonocytic cells which has been previously reported to modulate HIV replication in other in vitro systems, induced maturation of U1 cells toward a macrophage-like phenotype, as demonstrated by the induction of the differentiation-associated cell surface markers CD14 and CD11b. Vit.D3-induced differentiation did not result in induction of HIV expression; however, when U1 cells were stimulated with tumor necrosis factor alpha in the presence of Vit.D3, a synergistic induction of cell differentiation and viral expression was demonstrated. In contrast, Vit.D3 suppressed the induction of HIV expression in U1 cells stimulated with gamma interferon, interleukin-6, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, although synergy between Vit.D3 and these cytokines was observed in terms of cellular differentiation. These data suggest that differentiation of monocytic cells does not necessarily correlate with increased HIV expression.

HIV replication in IL-2-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells is driven in an autocrine/paracrine manner by endogenous cytokines.

Replication of HIV is regulated by virus-encoded regulatory proteins, as well as by a variety of cellular factors including cytokines. In the present study, we have investigated the autocrine/paracrine effects of endogenous cytokines on HIV replication in primary PBMCs of healthy HIV seronegative individuals. Addition of rIL-2 to cultures between 0 and 72 h after isolation of PBMCs allowed the replication of primary HIV isolates and laboratory-adapted HIV strains to levels comparable with or greater than those obtained in parallel cultures of autologous PHA-blasts. In this regard, both major cellular targets of HIV infection, CD4+ T lymphocytes and mononuclear phagocytes, were maintained for several weeks in IL-2-stimulated PBMC cultures and virion production was observed in both cell lineages. The kinetics of secretion of several cytokines (such as TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-6, and IFN-gamma), as well as expression of cellular activation markers, paralleled HIV replication in IL-2-stimulated PBMCs. Endogenous pro-inflammatory cytokines and IFN-gamma played a major role in the regulation of HIV replication in IL-2-stimulated PBMCs, as determined by the ability of several anti-cytokine Abs or antagonists to suppress HIV production; this was not the case in parallel cultures of autologous PHA-blasts. Thus, IL-2-stimulated PBMCs may represent a more physiologic in vitro system than PHA-blasts for the study of HIV infection and replication, and should prove useful in investigating the role of cytokines and other host factors in the regulation of HIV production.

Interleukin 1 induces expression of the human immunodeficiency virus alone and in synergy with interleukin 6 in chronically infected U1 cells: inhibition of inductive effects by the interleukin 1 receptor antagonist.

In the present study we have observed that interleukin (IL) 1 alpha or IL-1 beta directly induced expression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the latently infected human promonocytic cell line U1. In addition, IL-1 synergized with IL-6, but not with tumor necrosis factor, in the upregulation of virus expression in U1 cells as measured by accumulation of steady-state mRNAs and production of reverse transcriptase activity. The HIV inductive effect of IL-1 was blocked by transforming growth factor beta, anti-IL-1 antibodies, or monoclonal antibodies directed to the type 1, but not to the type 2, cell surface receptor for IL-1; the latter actually caused enhancement of the IL-1-mediated effect. Unlike tumor necrosis factor alpha, IL-1 either alone or in combination with IL-6 did not induce activation of the transcription activating factor NF-kappa B above the constitutive levels of unstimulated U1 cells. Finally, the IL-1 receptor antagonist effectively blocked IL-1-mediated direct and synergistic inductive effects on virus production. Thus, IL-1 may be an important mediator of HIV expression, and blocking of IL-1 expression and/or its effects may have a potential therapeutic role in the inhibition of HIV expression in infected individuals.

Interferon gamma induces the expression of human immunodeficiency virus in persistently infected promonocytic cells (U1) and redirects the production of virions to intracytoplasmic vacuoles in phorbol myristate acetate-differentiated U1 cells.

Interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), a lymphokine that exerts multiple immunoregulatory effects, has been found to be elevated in the plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, and lymph nodes of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals and has shown variable effects on HIV replication in acutely infected cells. In the present study, we have demonstrated that IFN-gamma is a potent modulator of HIV expression in persistently infected U1 promonocytic cells in which virus production is characterized by a constitutive state of relative latency. Direct stimulation of U1 cells with IFN-gamma (10-1,000 U/ml) activated HIV expression, as measured by reverse transcriptase (RT) activity in the culture supernatant and increased levels of cell-associated viral protein and mRNAs. These effects on virus expression were not accounted for by the induction of endogenous TNF-alpha secretion, as previously described in U1 cells stimulated with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). At the ultrastructural level, the stimulatory activity of IFN-gamma was correlated with HIV particle production in intracytoplasmic vacuoles along with the differentiation of U1 into macrophage-like cells. Furthermore, costimulation of U1 cells with IFN-gamma and PMA significantly increased the accumulation of vacuole-associated HIV concomitant with decreasing membrane-associated particles and RT activity production, as compared with cells stimulated with PMA alone. No evidence of spontaneous secretion of intracellular vacuole-associated virus was obtained by kinetic analysis of the RT activity released in the supernatants throughout the culture period unless cells were deliberately disrupted. These findings suggest that vacuole-associated virions likely represent a relatively stable intracellular reservoir of HIV, as previously described in primary macrophages infected in vitro or in infected macrophages in the brains of patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome. The reduced levels of RT activity observed in the culture supernatants of U1 cells stimulated with PMA in the presence of IFN-gamma were not indicative of a suppressive effect of IFN-gamma on PMA-induced expression of HIV proteins and mRNAs, either directly or mediated by the release of IFN-alpha/beta. This study suggests that IFN-gamma may play an important role as an inducer of HIV expression in infected mononuclear phagocytes.

Retinoic acid mimics transforming growth factor beta in the regulation of human immunodeficiency virus expression in monocytic cells.

Retinoic acid (RA) exerts potent suppressive and upregulatory effects on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) expression in mononuclear phagocytes, strikingly similar to the effects of the cytokine transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta). RA significantly inhibited phorbol ester-mediated, but not tumor necrosis factor alpha-mediated, induction of HIV transcription in the chronically infected promonocytic U1 cell line. RA and TGF-beta also completely suppressed the induction of virus production in U1 cells by interleukin 6 alone or in combination with glucocorticoids, which predominantly upregulate virus expression at the posttranscriptional level. Despite the close parallel to TGF-beta-induced effects, no evidence was obtained that RA mediated its effect by inducing secretion of active TGF-beta 1, -beta 2, or -beta 3. As with chronically infected U1 cells, similar inhibitory effects were also observed in primary monocyte-derived macrophages previously infected with HIV and then exposed to either RA or TGF-beta. In contrast, stimulation of monocyte-derived macrophages or U937 cells (the parental cell line of U1) with either RA or TGF-beta prior to in vitro infection resulted in the enhancement of virus production. Given the already successful use of retinoids in the treatment of several malignancies and the present demonstration of their capability of blocking the induction of HIV expression in infected mononuclear phagocytes, it would be of interest to pursue the potential role of this class of compounds in the development of strategies aimed at the pharmacologic regulation of HIV expression.

Transforming growth factor beta suppresses human immunodeficiency virus expression and replication in infected cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage.

The pleiotropic immunoregulatory cytokine transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) potently suppresses production of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the causative agent of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, in the chronically infected promonocytic cell line U1. TGF-beta significantly (50-90%) inhibited HIV reverse transcriptase production and synthesis of viral proteins in U1 cells stimulated with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) or interleukin 6 (IL-6). Furthermore, TGF-beta suppressed PMA induction of HIV transcription in U1 cells. In contrast, TGF-beta did not significantly affect the expression of HIV induced by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha). These suppressive effects were not mediated via the induction of interferon alpha (IFN-alpha). TGF-beta also suppressed HIV replication in primary monocyte-derived macrophages infected in vitro, both in the absence of exogenous cytokines and in IL-6-stimulated cultures. In contrast, no significant effects of TGF-beta were observed in either a chronically infected T cell line (ACH-2) or in primary T cell blasts infected in vitro. Therefore, TGF-beta may play a potentially important role as a negative regulator of HIV expression in infected monocytes or tissue macrophages in infected individuals.

Direct and cytokine-mediated activation of protein kinase C induces human immunodeficiency virus expression in chronically infected promonocytic cells.

The chronically infected promonocytic clone U1 expresses low-to-undetectable constitutive levels of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Virus replication in these cells can be increased up to 25-fold by phorbol esters (phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate), recombinant cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and cytokine-enriched mononuclear cell supernatants. We have tested specific activators of protein kinases (PK) and PK inhibitors (isoquinolinesulfonamide derivatives), as well as calcium-mobilizing agents, for their effect on constitutive and induced virus expression in U1 cells. Virus expression was measured by reverse transcriptase, Western blot, and nuclear run-on analysis. Activation of PKC by 1-oleyl,2-acetylglycerol, a synthetic analog of the natural ligand 1,2-diacylglycerol, and bryostatin 1 (a recently described specific PKC activator) resulted in a two- to eightfold increase in virus production. In contrast, activators of cyclic-nucleotide-dependent PKs were not effective in inducing virus expression. PK inhibitors were tested for their effect on HIV upregulation by cytokines and other inducing agents. The isoquinolinesulfonamide derivative H7, a potent inhibitor of PKC activation, effectively blocked (70 to 90%) HIV induction by cytokines and phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate. The derivative HA1004, which is more selective for cyclic-nucleotide-dependent kinases, did not suppress viral induction. In addition, increases in intracellular calcium levels dramatically enhanced HIV production induced by both specific PKC activators and cytokines. These results indicate that activation of PKC is a common pathway involved in the upregulation of HIV expression in chronically infected cells stimulated by cytokines and other inducing agents.