image: CD4 staining among adipose tissue demonstrating that the main target of HIV, i.e. CD4 T cells, is indeed detectable in adipose tissue. view more
Credit: CC-BY Damouche et al.
Viral persistence and chronic inflammation are two key features of HIV-positive patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART). A study published on September 24th in PLOS Pathogens reports results from macaques and humans that suggest an important role for adipose (fat) tissue as an HIV reservoir with inflammatory potential.
The establishment and persistence of low-grade inflammation in HIV-positive individuals on ART are not well understood. Given that adipose tissue (which makes up between 15 and 20% of the body weight in healthy people) is a source of inflammation in obese individuals, Christine Bourgeois and Olivier Lambotte, from the University Paris SUD, France, and colleagues, decided to investigate a possible role of the adipose tissue in humans infected with HIV and in macaques infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV, an HIV relative that causes AIDS-like disease in some non-human primates).
They found that SIV infection in macaques is associated with changes in the composition of the adipose tissue: Fat tissue from infected animals has higher densities of both adipocytes (fat storage cells) and a mix of differentiated and undifferentiated cells called stromal vascular fraction or SVF that contains a large proportion of immune cells.
Moreover, these immune cells (CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and macrophages) show enhanced immune activation and/or inflammatory profiles compared with non-infected animals. The researchers were also able to detect SIV DNA and RNA in the combined total SVF as well as in isolated adipose tissue macrophages and CD4+ T cells.
They observed similar results in ART-controlled, HIV-infected patients who had undergone elective abdominal surgery: their SVF samples are positive for HIV DNA, and the researchers could show the presence of infected and virus-producing cells within the patients' adipose tissue and more specifically among adipose CD4+ T cells.
The researchers conclude that they "identified adipose tissue as a crucial cofactor in both viral persistence and chronic immune activation/inflammation during HIV infection", and propose that "modulating adipose tissue may constitute a valuable means of limiting both viral persistence and chronic inflammation in ART-receiving HIV-infected patients".
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Contact:
Christine Bourgeois
e-mail: christine.bourgeois@u-psud.fr
phone: +33.1.49.59.67.59
Olivier Lambotte
e-mail: olivier.lambotte@aphp.fr
phone: +33.1.45.21.27.83
Please use this URL to provide readers access to the paper (Link goes live upon article publication): http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1005153
Related Image for Press Use: https://www.plos.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Pathogens_Bourgeois_September-24.jpg
Caption:
CD4 staining among adipose tissue demonstrating that the main target of HIV, i.e. CD4 T cells, is indeed detectable in adipose tissue. CC-BY Damouche et al.
Authors and Affiliations:
Abderaouf Damouche, Université Paris Sud, France; CEA, France; INSERM, France,
Thierry Lazure, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Bicêtre, France
Véronique Avettand-Fènoël, Université Paris Descartes, France; Assistance Publique--Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, France
Nicolas Huot, Institut Pasteur, France
Nathalie Dejucq-Rainsford, INSERM, France
Anne-Pascale Satie, INSERM, France
Adeline Mélard, Université Paris Descartes, France; Assistance Publique--Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, France
Ludivine David, Université Paris Descartes, France; Assistance Publique--Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, France
Céline Gommet, CEA, France
Jade Ghosn, Université Paris Descartes, France
Nicolas Noel, Université Paris Sud, France; CEA, France; INSERM, France; Assistance Publique--Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Bicêtre, France
Guillaume Pourcher, Assistance Publique--Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Béclère, France; INSERM, France
Valérie Martinez, Assistance Publique--Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Antoine Béclère, France
Stéphane Benoist, Assistance Publique--Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Bicêtre, France
Véronique Béréziat, INSERM, France; Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris, France; Assistance Publique--Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Tenon, France
Antonio Cosma, Université Paris Sud, France; CEA, France; INSERM, France
Benoit Favier, Université Paris Sud, France; CEA, France; INSERM, France
Bruno Vaslin, Université Paris Sud, France; CEA, France; INSERM, France
Christine Rouzioux, Université Paris Descartes, France; Assistance Publique--Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, France
Jacqueline Capeau, INSERM, France; Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris, France; Assistance Publique--Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Tenon, France
Michaela Müller-Trutwin, Institut Pasteur, France
Nathalie Dereuddre-Bosquet, Université Paris Sud, France; CEA, France; INSERM, France
Roger Le Grand, Université Paris Sud, France; CEA, France; INSERM, France
Olivier Lambotte, Université Paris Sud, France; CEA, France; INSERM, France; Assistance Publique--Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Bicêtre, France
Christine Bourgeois, Université Paris Sud, France; CEA, France; INSERM, France
Please contact plospathogens@plos.org if you would like more information.
Funding:
This study was supported by the Agence Nationale de Recherche sur le Sida et les Hépatites Virales (ANRS, France). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing Interests:
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation:
Damouche A, Lazure T, Avettand-Fènoël V, Huot N, Dejucq-Rainsford N, Satie A-P, et al. (2015) Adipose Tissue Is a Neglected Viral Reservoir and an Inflammatory Site during Chronic HIV and SIV Infection. PLoS Pathog 11(9): e1005153. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1005153
Journal
PLoS Pathogens