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Journal of Virology, April 2005, p. 4965-4976, Vol. 79, No. 8
0022-538X/05/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.79.8.4965-4976.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Mary B. Tompkins, and
Wayne A. Tompkins*
Immunology Program, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
Received 11 August 2004/ Accepted 19 November 2004
Previously, we have characterized feline CD4+ CD25+ T-regulatory (Treg) cells with regard to their immune regulatory properties and ability to support feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) replication in vitro and in vivo. Our studies showed that while CD4+ CD25+ cells were capable of replicating FIV in the presence of interleukin-2 (IL-2) alone, CD4+ CD25 cells harbored a latent infection that required a strong mitogenic stimulus to activate virus replication. In the present study, we investigated the mechanisms governing the preferential replication of FIV in highly purified CD4+ CD25+ Treg cells compared to their CD4+ CD25 counterparts. Studies aimed at elucidating mechanisms regulating infection of these cells revealed that CD4+ CD25 cells were less susceptible to FIV binding and entry than CD4+ CD25+ cells, which correlated with increased surface expression of FIV coreceptor CXCR4. In addition, the number of CD4+ CD25+ cells that expressed the primary receptor CD134 was greater than for CD4+ CD25 cells. Although increased permissiveness to FIV infection of CD4+ CD25 cells following mitogenic stimulation correlated strongly with upregulation of surface CXCR4, it did not correlate with CD134 expression. Further, study of intracellular factors regulating FIV replication revealed that CD4+ CD25+ but not CD4+ CD25 T cells showed constitutive and IL-2-responsive transactivation of activating transcription factor, CAAT enhancer binding protein, and activating protein 1 transcription factors that are important for FIV replication. These factors were upregulated in CD4+ CD25 T cells following ConA stimulation, which correlated with FIV replication. This is the first report elucidating the mechanisms that allow for productive lentiviral infection of CD4+ CD25+ Treg cells.
Present address: National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702.
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