Abstract
Background Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1 (HIV-1), the main causative agent of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a major global health problem. Cell-cell spread of HIV-1 between CD4 T cells confers many advantages including more rapid infection kinetics, evasion of neutralising antibodies and cellular restriction factors, and may pose a barrier to eradicating HIV-1 from the host. HIV-1 cell-cell spread occurs at intercellular contacts called virological synapses (VS) at which HIV-1 preferentially assembles and buds. We have previously shown that the microtubule organising centre (MTOC) and associated organelles are polarised within the HIV-1 infected cell at the VS; however the causes and consequences of this are unknown.
Highlights
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1 (HIV-1), the main causative agent of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a major global health problem
We have previously shown that the microtubule organising centre (MTOC) and associated organelles are polarised within the HIV-1 infected cell at the virological synapses (VS); the causes and consequences of this are unknown
We show that recruitment of the MTOC to the VS is triggered upon engagement of integrins on the HIV-1 infected cell and that HIV-1 infected T cells appear more prone to polarise
Summary
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1 (HIV-1), the main causative agent of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a major global health problem. Investigating contact-induced T cell polarisation at virological synapses Shimona Starling*, Elisabetta Groppelli, Alice Len, Clare Jolly From Frontiers of Retrovirology: Complex retroviruses, retroelements and their hosts Cambridge, UK.
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