NCREASED SERUM LEVELS OF GALECTIN-1 DURING HIV INFECTION PROMOTES VIRAL RELEASE AND LATENCY REACTIVATION

RUBIONE, JULIA; DUETTE, GABRIEL A.; PEREYRA GERBER, PEHUEN; PEREZ, PAULA S.; ADAMCZYK, ALAN; ROMANIUK, ALBERTINA; SALIDO, JIMENA; SUED, OMAR; MARIÑO, KARINA; CEBALLOS, ANA; RABINOVICH, GABRIEL; OSTROWSKI, MATIAS

Mar del Plata

Congreso; LXIV Reunión anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Inmunología; 2018

Sociedad Argentina de Inmunología

Galectin-1 (Gal-1) is an endogenous lectin with important immunomodulatory functions acting on both innate and adaptive immunecells. HIV-1 infects manly CD4+ T lymphocytes and macrophagescausing CD4+ T cell depletion, ultimately leading to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Implementation of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) reduces viral replication and CD4+ T cellloss, thus significantly improving the prognosis of HIV-infected individuals. Nevertheless, chronic inflammation and the maintenanceof latently infected cells-viral reservoir- represent two major barriers to achieve the cure of HIV infection. Herein, we analyzed therole of Galectin-1 in HIV-1 replication and latency reactivation. Weshow that in vitro infection of CD4+ T cells induces the expressionand secretion of Gal-1. In addition, we demonstrate that HIV-infected patients have increased serum levels of Gal-1 as compared tohealthy donors (p