Enhancement of HIV replication and giant cell formation by tumor necrosis factor.

Human T cell lines Molt-4, Jurkat, and TLOm-1 were infected by HIV-1 in the presence of various concentrations of r-TNF. The infectivity of HIV-1 was monitored by an indirect immunofluorescence method using anti-HIV-1-positive human serum. We found that r-TNF enhanced the replication of HIV-1. HIV-1-induced giant cell formation between HIV-1 chronically infected Molt-4 cells and HIV-1-uninfected Molt-4 cells was accelerated by r-TNF. The median tissue culture infectious doses (TCID50) of HIV-1 determined in the presence of TNF revealed that TNF apparently accelerated the time of the appearance of CPE but did not affect final titer of HIV-1.