Sex differences in the Toll-like receptor-mediated response of plasmacytoid dendritic cells to HIV-1
Data(s) |
01/08/2009
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Resumo |
Manifestations of viral infections can differ between women and men, and marked sex differences have been described in the course of HIV-1 disease. HIV-1-infected women tend to have lower viral loads early in HIV-1 infection but progress faster to AIDS for a given viral load than men. Here we show substantial sex differences in the response of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) to HIV-1. pDCs derived from women produce markedly more interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) in response to HIV-1-encoded Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) ligands than pDCs derived from men, resulting in stronger secondary activation of CD8(+) T cells. In line with these in vitro studies, treatment-naive women chronically infected with HIV-1 had considerably higher levels of CD8(+) T cell activation than men after adjusting for viral load. These data show that sex differences in TLR-mediated activation of pDCs may account for higher immune activation in women compared to men at a given HIV-1 viral load and provide a mechanism by which the same level of viral replication might result in faster HIV-1 disease progression in women compared to men. Modulation of the TLR7 pathway in pDCs may therefore represent a new approach to reduce HIV-1-associated pathology. |
Identificador | |
Idioma(s) |
eng |
Publicador |
Nature Publishing Group |
Relação |
http://dro.deakin.edu.au/eserv/DU:30069785/orellana-sexdiffeencesin-2009.pdf http://www.dx.doi.org/10.1038/nm.2004 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19597505 |
Direitos |
2008, Nature Publishing Group |
Tipo |
Journal Article |