The impact of the virus-producing cell type on the spread and neutralization sensitivity of HIV swarms

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Christina Karsten
• Subject Area: Virology
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 547946652

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infects not only CD4+ T cells but also macrophages, with the destruction of CD4+ T cells by HIV leading to a weakened immune system and the development of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Current research suggests that macrophages may play a more significant role in sexual HIV transmission than initially thought. While HIV primarily infects CD4+ T cells in the blood, it has been found that HIV in human semen originates mainly from macrophages. Thus, HIV swarms differ in terms of the dominant production cell type depending on their location in the human body. For the closely related ancestral virus of HIV, simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), we have already shown that CD4+ T cells and macrophages produce SIV with different infectivity and transmissibility in cell culture experiments. In this project, we aim to understand whether HIV also differs in the composition of viral components, ability to spread, and neutralization sensitivity depending on the cell type of the producer cell. In addition to HIV, which has been produced exclusively in either CD4+ T cells or macrophages, we also aim to create and characterize HIV swarms with different proportions of both producer cells. The results from this project are intended to help us understand the importance of the virus-producing cell for the spread of HIV and to determine whether potential differences in HIV swarms due to host cells need to be considered in the development of new medical interventions against HIV to ensure the greatest possible success.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants