A study reveals a new mechanism of HIV dissemination through immune cells of the vaginal tract
The project co-led by IrsiCaixa and Vall d'Hebron Research Institute shows that cervical dendritic cells, in charge of detecting infectious agents, can disseminate HIV and suggests a way to block this route of infection
A study published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology reveals a new mechanism with which dendritic cells of the cervix, in charge of detecting infectious agents, promote HIV dissemination in women. In order to prevent this way of propagation, researchers suggest to block Siglec-1, a key protein for the HIV capture by these cells.
Women represent the 51% of people infected by HIV in the world, which means 18.8 million women in 2017. The most common way of infection is sexual transmission, thus the study of the immune system of the vaginal tract can be crucial for the understanding of the inicial stages and dissemination of the virus among the rest of the body.
The Retrovirology and Clinical Studies group (GREC) at IrsiCaixa, together with the Translational Research in HIV group from Vall d'Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR), have studied the dendritic cells of the cervix, which are immune cells that trigger the immune response. These cells have direct contact with the virus in the vaginal tract but they are slightly susceptible to be infected because of their protection mechanisms. "When dendritic cells store viruses and migrate to the lymphoid tissue in order to activate the immune response, they enhance CD4+ T cell infection. These infected T cells will produce new viruses and promote their dissemination through the body" explains Nuria Izquierdo-Useros, associate researcher at GREC and co-leader of the study together with Meritxell Genescà from VHIR.
The work published in Frontiers in Immunology explains a new mechanism by which dendritic cells of the cervix capture HIV and promote the viral dissemination. This new mechanism is based on the protein is Siglec-1, a surface protein of the dendritic cells which facilitates the entry and storage of the virus into these cells and its subsequent transmission to the CD4+ target cells.
Therefore, the study, carried out with the collaboration of pathologists and gynecologists from Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Vall d'Hebron and Hospital Municipal de Badalona, demonstrates the molecular mechanism for the transmission of HIV through the dendritic cells of the cervical mucosa and suggests to use inhibitors of Siglec-1 to block this pathway. "The inclusion of inhibitors in microbicides, can prevent infection by blocking this specific route of viral dissemination from the genital tract of women to the rest of the body" concludes Daniel Perez-Zsolt, researcher at IrsiCaixa and first author of the article together with Jon Cantero-Pérez, from VHIR.