Regulation of HIV Production by Blood Mononuclear Cells from HIV-Infected Donors: I. Lack of Correlation Between HIV-1 Production and T Cell Activation

The relationship between production of HIV-1 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from HIV-1-infected donors and the level of T cell activation by various stimuli was examined. Stimulation of PBMCs with soluble anti-CD3 antibody or staphylococcal enterotoxin/superantigen (SAg) was found to be 100-–1000 times more effective at inducing production of HIV-1 than was stimulation with immobilized anti-CD3 or various other T cell activating agents. However, proliferation of CD4+ T cells and lymphokine production following stimulation with soluble anti-CD3 were less than with immobilized anti-CD3. To determine whether immobilized anti-CD3 stimulated cells may produce a factor(s) that suppresses HIV production, dual-chamber coculture experiments were performed in which soluble and immobilized anti-CD3-stimulated CD8-depleted PBMCs were separated by porous membranes. Stimulation of cells by immobilized anti-CD3 suppressed HIV-1 production by soluble anti-CD3-stimulated cells in the inner chamber, suggesti...