Elevated CD54 expression renders CD4+ T cells susceptible to NK cell-mediated killing.

Journal article

A decreased number of CD4+ T cells is a major feature of HIV infection. Here we detected high CD54 expression on CD4+ T cells in HIV-infected individuals, and demonstrate that upregulated CD54 is associated with disease progression in individuals infected with HIV. We also show that CD54 expression leads to the killing of CD4+ T cells by NK cells in vitro, and that this is modulated by NF-κB/p65 signaling. Further, we demonstrate that metformin can suppress CD54 expression on CD4+ T cells by inhibiting NF-κB/p65 phosphorylation; thus, our data suggest that further studies to evaluate the potential role of metformin as adjunctive therapy to reconstitute immune function in HIV-infected individuals are warranted.

Authors: Chen, X; Chen, H; Zhang, Z; Fu, Y; Han, X

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Journal: Journal of Infectious Diseases
• Volume: 220
• Issue: 12
• Pages: 1892-1903
• Publication date: 2019-08-21
• Acceptance date: 2019-08-21
• DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiz413
• EISSN: 1537-6613
• ISSN: 0022-1899
• Pmid: 31433832
• Language: English
• Keywords: CD54; HIV; FFR; CD4+ T cells; NK cell-mediated killing