Abstract
The tuberculosis (TB) bacillus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), and HIV-1 act synergistically; however, the mechanisms by which Mtb exacerbates HIV-1 pathogenesis are not well known. Usinginvitro and exvivo cell culture systems, weshow that human M(IL-10) anti-inflammatory macrophages, present in TB-associated microenvironment, produce high levels of HIV-1. Invivo,M(IL-10) macrophages are expanded in lungs of co-infected non-human primates, which correlates with disease severity. Furthermore, HIV-1/Mtb co-infected patients display an accumulation of M(IL-10) macrophage markers (soluble CD163 and MerTK). These M(IL-10) macrophages form direct cell-to-cell bridges, which we identifiedas tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) involved in viraltransfer. TNT formation requires the IL-10/STAT3 signaling pathway, and targeted inhibition of TNTssubstantially reduces the enhancement of HIV-1 cell-to-cell transfer and overproduction in M(IL-10) macrophages. Our study reveals that TNTs facilitate viral transfer and amplification, thereby promoting TNT formation as a mechanism to be explored in TB/AIDS potential therapeutics.
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