Galectin-1 promotes HIV-1 latency reactivation

JULIA RUBIONE; PEHUEN PEREYRA GERBER; ALEJANDRO CAGNONI; SHARON LEWIN; MATIAS OSTROWSKI; PAULA S. PEREZ; CARLA PASCUALE; OMAR SUED; GABRIEL A. RABINOVICH; GABRIEL DUETTE; JIMENA SALIDO; KARINA V. MARIÑO; NATALIA LÄUFER

Workshop; 2019 IAS HIV & HBV Cure Forum; 2019

Galectin-1 (Gal-1) is an endogenous lectin with important immunomodulatory functions acting on both innate and adaptive immune cells. HIV-1 infects manly CD4+ T lymphocytes and macrophages causing CD4+T cell depletion, ultimately leading to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Implementation of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) significantly improves the prognosis of HIV-infected individuals. Nevertheless, chronic inflammation and the maintenance of latently infected cells-viral reservoir- represent two major barriers to achieve the cure of HIV infection. Herein, we analyzed the role of Galectin-1 on HIV-1 latency reactivation and chronic immune activation.