Plasmacytoid dendritic cells are highly susceptible to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection and release infectious virus.

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pcDC) and myeloid dendritic cells (myDC) are shown to express CD4 and low levels of CCR5 and CXCR4, but only myDC express DC SIGN, a C-type lectin that binds human immunodeficiency virus but does not mediate virus entry. Both DC types were more susceptible to infection with a macrophage than a lymphotropic strain of human immunodeficiency virus type 1, but pcDC were more readily infected than myDC.