HIV-1 may overcome these

innate mechanisms of resistance in the case of high viral inoculum, mucosal trauma or co-infections that induce local infiltrates of activated T cells. Consequently, strategies aimed at augmenting innate resistance factors or NK cell activity may bolster natural barriers to HIV-1 infection regardless of genotype. Prophylactic approaches aimed at augmenting DC/NK cross-talk within sites of exposure or harnessing the ability of Fc-bearing immune cells to trigger ADCC as an innate/adaptive mechanism of protection warrant further investigation. Bafilomycin A1 datasheet The ultimate goal of such approaches is to understand how Selleck Smoothened Agonist best to recruit innate and adaptive factors best suited to prevent infection before HIV-1 reaches its ultimate goal of dissemination and T cell activation/depletion. Once the onset of systemic HIV-1 replication in activated T cells starts in the gut/periphery during the post-eclipse phase of acute infection,

it is probably too late to intercede with innate or adaptive immune-mediated mechanisms of resistance that are critical at the site of exposure. This study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIDA R01 DA028775, (-)-p-Bromotetramisole Oxalate R01 AI073219, RO1 AI065279, Core grant P30 CA10815), the Philadelphia Foundation and funds from the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Universal Research Enhancement Program. The authors do not have any conflicts of interest or any other disclosures. “
“Two different Toll-like receptors (TLRs) have been shown to play a role in host responses to Leishmania infection. TLR-2 is involved in parasite survival in macrophages upon activation by lipophosphoglycan (LPG), a virulence factor expressed by Leishmania. In contrast, activation of TLR-9 has been shown to promote a host-protective response. However,

whether there is a relationship between the interaction of LPG and TLR-2, on one hand, with the effect of TLR-9, on the other hand, remains unknown. In this study, we report that in-vitro infection of macrophages with a L. major parasite with high expression levels of LPG results in decreased TLR-9 expression compared to infection with a L. major parasite with lower expression levels of LPG. Addition of anti-LPG as well as anti-TLR-2 antibodies prevents this reduction of TLR-9 expression. Also, the addition of purified LPG to macrophages results in a decrease of TLR-9 expression, which is shown to be mediated by transforming growth factor (TGF)-β and interleukin (IL)-10.