Abstract
One of the cell types first encountered by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) following sexual transmission are dendritic cells (DC). DC capture HIV-1 through C-type lectin receptors, of which the best studied example is DC-SIGN, which mediates HIV-1 internalization. DC can keep the virus infectious for several days and are able to transmit HIV-1 to CD4(+) T cells. We tested proteins from milk and serum for their ability to block DC-mediated HIV-1 transmission, of which bovine lactoferrin (bLF) is the most potent inhibitor. bLF binds strongly to DC-SIGN, thus preventing virus capture and subsequent transmission. Interestingly, bLF is a much more efficient inhibitor of transmission than human lactoferrin. Since bLF is nontoxic and easy to purify in large quantities, it is an interesting candidate microbicide against HIV-1. Another advantage of bLF is its ability to block HIV-1 replication in T cells. DC-mediated capture of a bLF-resistant HIV-1 variant that was selected during long-term culturing in T cells could still be blocked by bLF. This underscores the usefulness of bLF as a microbicide drug to prevent HIV-1 transmission.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 3009-3015 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of Virology |
Volume | 79 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2005 |
Keywords
- Animals
- Cattle
- Cell Adhesion Molecules/physiology
- Dendritic Cells/drug effects
- HIV Envelope Protein gp120/physiology
- HIV Infections/immunology
- HIV-1/drug effects
- Humans
- In Vitro Techniques
- Lactoferrin/isolation & purification
- Lectins, C-Type/physiology
- Protein Binding
- Receptors, Cell Surface/physiology
- Species Specificity
- Virus Replication/drug effects