Retinoic acid imprints a mucosal-like phenotype on dendritic cells with an increased ability to fuel HIV-1 infection.

ABSTRACT: The tissue microenvironment shapes the characteristics and functions of dendritic cells (DCs), which are important players in HIV infection and dissemination. Notably, DCs in the gut have the daunting task of orchestrating the balance between immune response and tolerance. They produce retinoic acid (RA), which imprints a gut-homing phenotype and influences surrounding DCs. To investigate how the gut microenvironment impacts the ability of DCs to drive HIV infection, we conditioned human immature monocyte-derived DCs (moDCs) with RA (RA-DCs), before pulsing them with HIV and mixing them with autologous T cells. RA-DCs showed a semimature, mucosal-like phenotype and released higher amounts of TGF-β1 and CCL2. Using flow cytometry, Western blot, and microscopy, we determined that moDCs expre

SUBMITTER: Guerra-Perez N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4339396 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature