Role in HIV Infection

Lederman MM, Penn-Nicholson A, Cho M, Mosier D (2006) Biology of CCR5 and its role in HIV infection and treatment. JAMA 296 815-826... 

Dendritic cells, which are found at mucosal surfaces and in lymphoid organs, are thought to play an important role in HIV infection. In vitro, dendritic cells have been... 

Besides the clear role for chemokines in modulating recruitment of cells into the CNS in HIV infection, and the potential role for chemokines to directly modulate neuronal signaling, recent evidence has suggested a link between CNS chemokine expression and enhancement of excitotoxic injury through enhancement of glutamate... 

Zaitseva MB, Lee S, Rabin RL, et al. CXCR4 and CCR5 on human thymocytes biological function and role in HIV-1 infection. J Immunol 1998 161 3103-3113. 

Reeves J, Doms R. The role of chemokine receptors in HIV infection of host cells. In Bradshaw R, Dennis E, eds. Handbook of Cell Signaling New York Academic Press 2004 191-196. 

AIDS is associated with aberrant lymphocyte production and it has been proposed that Li+ may have a potential role in reversing this. Additionally, 3 -azido-3"deoxythymidine (AZT, zidovudine), an effective inhibitor of viral reverse transcriptase that reduces mortality in AIDS patients, induces hematopoietic suppression in patients resulting in anemia, neutropenia, and overall bone-marrow failure [220]. In murine AIDS, the coadministration of Li+ effectively moderates this toxicity of AZT in vivo [221,222]. There are several case reports where Li+ has been administered to help reduce the hematopoietic suppression in HIV-infected patients taking AZT (for example, see ref. 223). To date, the use of Li+ has been limited to a few weeks of treatment, and varying degrees of success have been achieved nevertheless the outlook in this field is quite hopeful. 

Chronic infections such as HIV result in immunosuppression as a result of induction of CD4+ Treg cells. Increased risk of Kaposi s sarcoma, non-Hodgkin s lymphoma and liver cancer is associated with long-term infections such as HIV. Immunosuppression in HIV-infected individuals occurs before the development of AIDS, which proceeds before the depletion of CD4+ T cells, and the induction of Treg cells may play a role in this process. The mechanisms are IL-10-independent and include the involvement of TGF-(3 secreted via signaling through cell-cell interaction involving CTLA-4. 

Dobs A. Role of testosterone in maintaining lean body mass and bone density in HIV-infected patients. Int J Impot Res 2003 15 S21-5. 

J, Vazquez G. Fat distribution and metabolic abnormalities in HIV-infected patients on first combination antiretroviral therapy including stavudine or zidovudine role of physical activity as a protective factor. Antivir Ther 2003 8 223-31. 

Transfusion of HIV-infected blood is likely to remain a public health problem, especially in parts of Africa (Central, Eastern, and Southern), Asia, and parts of the Caribbean. Non-sterile needles, syringes, and other skinpiercing instruments also play a role in HIV transmission. 

TNFa is classically associated with septic shock and diverse infectious pathological conditions. It is involved in the development of a protective immune response in tuberculosis. Measurable serum TNFa levels have been detected in 10.5% of children with pulmonary tuberculosis, all of whom belonged to the group with active disease. Results suggest a protective role for TNFa in respiratory syncytial virus infection. In patients with chronic hepatitis C during treatment with IFNa, elevated production of TNFa by PBMCs may be due to host response to the virus. In HIV infection, TNFs and IL-6 stimulate viral replication. 

CKs have important roles in a large diversity of human pathological conditions, namely in HIV infection transplant rejection rheumatic, allergic, and autoimmune diseases cancer atherosclerosis and general immunoinflammatory processes (systemic, or related with central nervous system), and are expected as promising targets for new molecular therapies. ... 

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