Effects of human interleukin 7 on HIV-1 replication in monocyte-derived human macrophages.

Interleukin 7 (IL-7) contributes to development and proliferation of T cells. We investigated the effect of IL-7 on HIV-1 infected monocyte-derived human macrophages. IL-7 treatment of macrophages at a concentration of 10 ng/ml reduced replication of the R5 HIV-1 strain by approximately 50%. Meanwhile, HIV-1-infected macrophages themselves could excrete approximately 20% more IL-7 than uninfected macrophages. These results suggest that IL-7 could be used as a therapeutic modality to recover CD4 T cells.