HIV-1-infected peripheral blood mononuclear cells enhance neutrophil survival and HLA-DR expression via increased production of GM-CSF: implications for HIV-1 infection.

OBJECTIVE: HIV-1 bound to intact neutrophils efficiently infects activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Here, we evaluated the effect of the local milieu created by activated PBMC before and after HIV-1 infection on neutrophil survival and HLA-DR expression, with emphasis placed on a role for GM-CSF.
METHODS: PBMC of healthy adult individuals were activated by phytohemagglutinin (PHA) or anti-CD3/anti-CD28 and were subsequently cultured without (HIV-1⁻) or with HIV-1 (HIV-1+). The effects of the culture supernatants or recombinant GM-CSF on survival and HLA-DR expression by neutrophils of healthy adult individuals and of HIV-1-infected individuals were evaluated using flow cytometry.
RESULTS: Conditioned medium from PHA-activated PBMC (HIV-1⁻ and HIV-1+) increased neutrophil survival and induced HLA-DR expression by neutrophils of healthy individuals in a GM-CSF dependent fashion. HIV-1 infection variably, but consistently, increased GM-CSF production by PHA-activated PBMC but not GM-CSF production by anti-CD3/anti-CD28-activated PBMC. The latter was correlated with a loss of CD3+GMCSF+ cells after infection. Neutrophils of elite controllers exhibited a diminished HLADR response to GM-CSF in culture, whereas neutrophils of HIV-1+ subjects having a low viral load on anti-retroviral therapy or subjects with a high viral load exhibited a range of HLA-DR responses.
CONCLUSIONS: GM-CSF production within the mucosa or draining lymph nodes may promote HIV-1 infection by facilitating sustained contact between viable neutrophils with bound HIV-1 and CD4 lymphocytes. The minimal effect of GM-CSF on HLA-DR expression by neutrophils of elite controllers provides indirect support for this conclusion.