HIV-1 mediates phenotypic maturation of pDCs in a dose-dependent manner.

Abstract

<p>(A): Phenotypic characterization of freshly sorted pDCs. The expression of HIV-1- receptor CD4, co-receptors CCR5 and CXCR4, maturation markers CD40, CD80, CD86, CD83, HLA-DR and chemokine-receptor CCR7 were analyzed by flow cytometry on gated CD123⁺CD303⁺ pDCs. (B): Sorted pDCs were either incubated with medium (NS) or stimulated with CpG (3μg/ml) for 24 hours and the expression of the indicated markers was analyzed. (C): pDCs were exposed to indicated concentrations of HIV-1 and the expression of the indicated markers was analyzed. The percentage of cells expressing the indicated marker and mean fluorescence intensity (in brackets) are indicated. (D): HIV-1-induced phenotypic maturation of pDCs was demonstrated following the identification of mature cells, i.e. CD123^brightHLA-DR^brightFSC^high cells. These results are representative of at least three different experiments conducted with primary cells from distinct donors.</p