Increased production of IL-7 accompanies HIV-1–mediated T-cell depletion: implications for T-cell homeostasis

LA Napolitano, RM Grant, SG Deeks, D Schmidt… - Nature medicine, 2001 - nature.com
LA Napolitano, RM Grant, SG Deeks, D Schmidt, SC De Rosa, LA Herzenberg, BG Herndier…
Nature medicine, 2001nature.com
We hypothesized that HIV-1–mediated T-cell loss might induce the production of factors that
are capable of stimulating lymphocyte development and expansion. Here we perform cross-
sectional (n= 168) and longitudinal (n= 11) analyses showing that increased circulating
levels of interleukin (IL)-7 are strongly associated with CD4+ T lymphopenia in HIV-1
disease. Using immunohistochemistry with quantitative image analysis, we demonstrate that
IL-7 is produced by dendritic-like cells within peripheral lymphoid tissues and that IL-7 …
Abstract
We hypothesized that HIV-1–mediated T-cell loss might induce the production of factors that are capable of stimulating lymphocyte development and expansion. Here we perform cross-sectional (n= 168) and longitudinal (n= 11) analyses showing that increased circulating levels of interleukin (IL)-7 are strongly associated with CD4+ T lymphopenia in HIV-1 disease. Using immunohistochemistry with quantitative image analysis, we demonstrate that IL-7 is produced by dendritic-like cells within peripheral lymphoid tissues and that IL-7 production by these cells is greatly increased in lymphocyte-depleted tissues. We propose that IL-7 production increases as part of a homeostatic response to T-cell depletion.
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