Sensitivity of human immunodeficiency virus infection to various alpha, beta and gamma chemokines.

Examination of a large panel of chemokines indicates that in addition to RANTES, MIP-1alpha and MIP-1beta, the beta-chemokine MCP-2 and, to a lesser extent, the gamma-chemokine lymphotactin also show anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) activity in cell culture. The amount of chemokine needed to suppress HIV replication by > or = 50% was generally greater (> or = 250 ng/ml) than that required for inhibition of virus infection by RANTES, MIP-1alpha and MIP-1beta. The beta-chemokine MCP-3 was found to enhance the replication of both non-syncytium-inducing (NSI) and syncytium-inducing (SI) viruses at high concentrations (0.5-5 microg/ml). In contrast to a previous report, macrophage-derived chemokine was not found to inhibit HIV replication of either NSI or SI viruses, but at low concentrations enhanced NSI virus replication. When small amounts of RANTES or MCP-2 were added together with high concentrations of non-inhibitory chemokines, the anti-HIV effects were countered. Information on chemokines that affect HIV infection could be useful for future therapeutic strategies.