The Journal of Immunology, 1999, 162: 7555-7562.
Copyright © 1999 by The American Association of Immunologists
Induction of MHC Class I Expression on Immature Thymocytes in HIV-1-Infected SCID-hu Thy/Liv Mice: Evidence of Indirect Mechanisms1
Grigoriy Kovalev*,
Karen Duus*,
Liping Wang*,
Robert Lee
,
Mark Bonyhadi2,
,
David Ho
,
Joseph M. McCune3,
,
Hideto Kaneshima
and
Lishan Su4,*
*
Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599;
SyStemix, Inc., Palo Alto, CA 94304; and
Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10016
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Abstract
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The SCID-hu Thy/Liv mouse and human fetal thymic organ culture
(HF-TOC) models have been used to explore the pathophysiologic
mechanisms of HIV-1 infection in the thymus. We report here that HIV-1
infection of the SCID-hu Thy/Liv mouse leads to the induction of MHC
class I (MHCI) expression on CD4+CD8+ (DP)
thymocytes, which normally express low levels of MHCI. Induction of
MHCI on DP thymocytes in HIV-1-infected Thy/Liv organs precedes their
depletion and correlates with the pathogenic activity of the HIV-1
isolates. Both MHCI protein and mRNA are induced in thymocytes from
HIV-1-infected Thy/Liv organs, indicating induction of MHCI gene
expression. Indirect mechanisms are involved, because only a fraction
(<10%) of the DP thymocytes were directly infected by HIV-1, although
the majority of DP thymocytes are induced to express high levels of
MHCI. We further demonstrate that IL-10 is induced in HIV-1-infected
thymus organs. Similar HIV-1-mediated induction of MHCI expression was
observed in HF-TOC assays. Exogenous IL-10 in HF-TOC induces MHCI
expression on DP thymocytes. Therefore, HIV-1 infection of the thymus
organ leads to induction of MHCI expression on immature thymocytes via
indirect mechanisms involving IL-10. Overexpression of MHCI on DP
thymocytes can interfere with thymocyte maturation and may contribute
to HIV-1-induced thymocyte depletion.
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Introduction
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Although
not well studied during HIV-1 infection, the thymus has been implicated
as a site of early viral replication (1, 2, 3), and thymic organs from
HIV-1-infected fetuses and pediatric patients show profound parenchymal
damage and involution (4, 5, 6). More significantly, a strong correlation
of HIV-1-induced thymus dysfunction to faster AIDS progression has been
established in pediatric patients (7). Since the thymus organ is
difficult to study in human subjects, a small animal model for the
analysis of human thymopoiesis (SCID-hu Thy/Liv mouse) has been
constructed by engrafting fragments of human fetal liver and thymus
into the immunodeficient C.B-17 scid/scid (SCID) mouse (8, 9). The Thy/Liv organ promotes normal, long term differentiation of
human T cells (9, 10). Thymocyte subpopulations are normally
represented, a normal TCR V repertoire is displayed (11, 12), and
tolerance is induced toward both self MHC Ags and exogenously provided
superantigens (13, 14).
After inoculation of the SCID-hu Thy/Liv mouse with HIV-1, replication
of pathogenic HIV-1 isolates reaches high levels at 2 wk postinfection
(wpi),5 followed by depletion of
CD4+ thymocytes with an inversion of the CD4/CD8 ratio
between 34 wpi (15, 16, 17, 18). CD4+CD8+ (DP)
thymocytes, comprising 8085% of the total thymocytes, are
significantly depleted. In addition, a higher rate of replication and
thymocyte depletion is observed with rapidly replicating,
syncytium-inducing virus isolated from AIDS patients than with slowly
replicating, nonsyncytium-inducing virus isolated from the same
patients before AIDS development or from long term nonprogressor
patients (19). As observed in the SIV-infected rhesus macaque (20),
replication of HIV-1 in the SCID-hu mouse is dependent upon an intact
nef open reading frame (21). Analysis of the other HIV-1
accessory genes, such as vpr, vpu, and
vif, has demonstrated that, unlike in tissue cultures,
mutations in these genes significantly slow down the replication and
cytopathic effects of HIV-1 (22, 23). Thus, the SCID-hu Thy/Liv mouse
provides a relevant in vivo model to evaluate primary HIV-1 replication
and pathogenicity.
Both direct and indirect mechanisms of thymocyte depletion have been
implicated in HIV-1-infected thymus organs (16, 18, 24, 25). Target
cell depletion may be achieved by a number of HIV-1-encoded factors
with cytotoxic or cytostatic activities, as demonstrated in T cells in
vitro. For example, vpr has been shown to lead to
G2/S phase cell cycle arrest in infected target cells
(26, 27). Other HIV-1 proteins, such as Tat, Nef, and gpl20/gp41, have
also demonstrated cytotoxic activity in various cell culture systems
(28, 29, 30, 31). Apoptosis has been associated with HIV-1-induced T cell death
both in vitro and in vivo (32, 33, 34, 35, 36). In the Thy/Liv organ, some
thymocytes with condensed nuclei are detected in HIV-1-infected Thy/Liv
organs by thin section light microscopy and electron microscopy (16).
Biochemically, partial chromosomal loss (detected by propidium iodide
staining) (16) and DNA strand breaks (detected by terminal
deoxynucleotide transferase labeling) (24) are associated with
HIV-1-induced thymocyte depletion. DNA stand breaks are detected both
in HIV-1-infected and in uninfected cells. However, data from a recent
report suggest that necrosis by cytolytic infection may be a major
mechanism of HIV-1-induced thymocyte depletion, and significant levels
of apoptosis are only detected at late times postinfection (25). In
addition, the intrathymic T progenitor cells can be directly infected
and depleted to lead to thymocyte depletion by blocking T cell
development (24).
The thymus microenvironment is essential for T cell development.
Destruction of thymic epithelial cells has been reported in the human
thymus and in the SCID-hu Thy/Liv organ after HIV-1 infection (4, 17).
This may block T cell development and result in thymocyte depletion.
Indeed, two recent reports suggest that hemopoietic progenitor cells in
HIV-1-infected Thy/Liv organs are preferentially depleted by indirect
mechanisms (37, 38). It is not clear, however, whether the
HIV-1-infected thymic stromal cells are still functional in supporting
de novo human T cell development. Only transient T cell development is
reported after efficient inhibition of HIV-1 replication (39).
During T cell maturation in the thymus, MHC class I (MHCI) is
differentially expressed on different subpopulations of thymocytes. Of
note, the expression of MHCI on CD4+CD8+ DP
thymocytes is lower than that on more mature CD4+ or
CD8+ SP thymocytes (40). Thus, lowered expression of MHCI
on DP thymocytes is associated with and may be important for normal
thymocyte maturation. It has been reported that intrathymic transfer of
semiallogeneic thymocytes can induce transient allo-tolerance in
host-derived T cells (41). Supporting the idea that proper levels of
interaction between MHCI and CD8/TCR on developing thymocytes are
important for normal thymocyte maturation, ectopic expression of MHCI
on thymocytes leads to thymocyte depletion in a transgenic mouse model
(42). Similar results are reported in transgenic mice expressing high
levels of CD8 on thymocytes (43). Interference with intrathymic
selection signals of immature thymocytes is probably involved. We
report here that HIV-1 infection of the thymus organ leads to enhanced
expression of MHCI on DP thymocytes by indirect mechanisms in the
SCID-hu Thy/Liv mouse and in human fetal thymus organ cultures
(HF-TOC).
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Materials and Methods
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Reagents
mAbs reactive with CD3, CD4, and CD8 were purchased from Becton
Dickinson (San Jose, CA). Anti-MHCI mAb W6/32 was obtained from
Biodesign (Kennebunk, ME). HC-10 mAb and a cDNA encoding the MHCI gene
(44) were provided by Ed Collins (University of North Carolina, Chapel
Hill, NC). Human recombinant IL-10, IL-7, and IL-2 were purchased from
Endogen (Woburn, MA). HIV-1 isolates used in this study have been
described previously: NL4-3 (45); JD and EW (24); A6/87, A7/88, B5/85,
B11/88, and D9/90 (46); 89.6 (47); and JR-CSF (15).
Infection of SCID-hu Thv/Liv mice
Animal transplantation procedures for SCID-hu Thy/Liv
construction have been previously described (9). Infection of SCID-hu
Thy/Liv mice was performed as previously described (24). Briefly,
SCID-hu Thy/Liv mice (46 mo after transplantation) were infected with
supernatant collected from PHA-activated PBMC containing no HIV-1
(mock) or 4 x 103 to 104
TCID50/ml of HIV-1. Fifty microliters (2002000
TCID50) were injected into each thymus graft. The Thy/Liv
organs were harvested at the indicated times, thymocyte suspension was
prepared, and thymocyte subpopulations were analyzed by FACS (CD4-PE,
CD8-TC, MHCI-FITC).
The study was approved by the institutional review boards, and animal
experimentation guidelines were followed.
HF-TOC assays
The HF-TOC procedures are essentially as previously described
(48). Briefly, human fetal thymi (1924 gestational wk) were dissected
into approximately 2-mm3 fragments containing about two to
four intact thymic lobules and transferred into either mock supernatant
or virus-containing supernatant. The vials were gently rocked at room
temperature for 2 h, and the fragments were transferred to
0.45-µm pore size Nucleopore filters (Millipore, Bedford, MA) atop
gelfoam boats (Upjohn, Kalamazoo, MI) saturated in HF-TOC medium (RPMI,
10% FCS, 50 µg/ml streptomycin, 50 U/ml penicillin G, 1x MEM
vitamin solution (Life Technologies, Gaithersburg, MD), and 1x
insulin/transferrin/sodium selenite medium supplement (Sigma, St.
Louis, MO)) in 6-well tissue culture plates. The fragments were then
cultured at 37°C with 5% CO2 for 48 days with daily
changes of culture medium.
HIV-1 replication and cytokine assays
Measurement of cell-associated p24 production (picograms per
106 thymocytes) was performed using a p24 ELISA kit
(DuPont, Wilmington, DE). Semiquantitative DNA PCR analysis was
performed essentially as previously described (24). Briefly, 10,000
human thymocytes from Thy/Liv grafts or HF-TOC fragments were assayed
by 10-fold dilution of infected cells into uninfected human cells.
Genomic DNA was prepared from the mixed cells (Fig. 4
, lane
1, 10,000 sample cells; Fig. 4
, lane 2, 1,000 sample
cells plus 9,000 normal human cells; Fig. 4
, lane 3, 100
sample cells plus 9,900 normal human cells). ACH2 cells (1 HIV-1
genome/cell) were used as a standard control. A standard titration
represents samples with 100, 10, 1, 0.1, 0.01, and 0%, respectively,
ACH2 cells. For detecting HIV-1 Rev+ thymocytes, cells were
stained with CD4-PE and CD8-TC, fixed and permeabilized, and followed
by intracellular staining of Rev (anti-Rev-FITC) as previously
described (49). CEM parental cells or CEM stably expressing an HIV-1
rev transgene was used as the control.

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FIGURE 4. Indirect induction of MHCI expression by HIV-1 infection.
A, Semiquantitative PCR assays (24) were used to analyze
HIV-1 proviral DNA loads in total thymocytes at various times
postinfection (26 wpi). A representative mock- or HIV-1-infected
sample is shown to demonstrate the relative proviral DNA loads. The
fold induction of MHCT on DP thymocytes by HIV-1 infection is
indicated. Lane 3 of ACH2 control cells at 2 wpi was
from PCR run in the absence of human cell DNA. Lanes
13 represent 100, 10, and 1% sample cells mixed with normal
thymocytes, respectively. For ACH2 cells, lanes 16
represent 100, 10, 1, 0.1, 0.01, and 0% ACH2 cells mixed with normal
human thymocytes. A total of 1O4 cells were used in each PCR reaction.
Similar results were observed in three independent experiments.
B, Purified thymocyte subpopulation from a SCID-hu
Thy/Liv mouse infected at 14 dpi (NL4-3). No significant thymocyte
depletion was detected at this time point, and MHCI levels on DP
thymocytes were induced by 7-fold in this Thy/Liv organ. Thymocyte
subpopulations were purified to >90%, and PCR analysis was performed
as described above. CD4-SP,
CD4+CD8- thymocytes; CD8-SP,
CD4-CD8+ thymocytes; DP,
CD4+CD8+ thymocytes. C, The
majority of DP thymocytes with enhanced MHCI expression are not
productively infected by HIV-1. Mock or HIV-1 (JD)-infected SCID-hu
Ty/Liv mice were analyzed at 2 wpi. Total live cells were gated based
on light scatter profiles. The percentage of the DP subpopulation is
shown (left panel). MHCI expression of DP thymocytes is
shown as the mean channel fluorescence (MCF) in the histograms
(middle panel). Intracellular HIV-1 Rev expression was
detected by FACS, and the percentage of Rev+ cells is shown
(right panel). At least three independent experiments
with duplicate samples were performed to confirm the results.
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Cell-associated IL-10 was measured with an IL-10 ELISA kit (BioSource
International, Camarillo, CA). Briefly, thymocytes were prepared
from SCID-hu Thy/Liv organs or from HF-TOC fragments as described
above. Equal numbers of thymocytes were lysed, and standard ELISA was
performed as described in the kit instructions. IL-10 levels from
mock-infected HF-TOC fragments were used as baselines (1x) in
each experiment.
Western blot and RNA blot analysis
Western blot analysis was performed with total thymocyte cell
extracts prepared from mock- or HIV-1-infected Thy/Liv organs between
1015 days postinfection (dpi). Thymocytes were meshed out of the
thymic stromal cells, and protein extracts from equal number of
thymocytes (3 x 106) were run on SDS-PAGE. The
anti-MHCI mAb (HC-10) and the chemiluminescent detection system
(Amersham, Arlington Heights, IL) were used for Western detection.
Total RNA (7.5 µg) isolated from thymocytes prepared as described
above were used to analyze MHCI gene expression by standard Northern
blot with an MHCI cDNA as probe 44). RNA samples were confirmed by
ribosomal RNA bands and by blotting with a human ß-actin cDNA probe.
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Results
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Induction of MHCI expression on DP thymocytes in HIV-infected
Thy/Liv organs
We analyzed phenotypic changes in thymocytes in HIV-1-infected
Thy/Liv organs. During human thymocyte maturation, MHCI expression was
low in immature CD4+CD8+ DP thymocytes and high
in CD4+ or CD8+ SP thymocytes (Fig. 1
). As shown in two representative
Thy/Liv organs at 14 dpi with mock or HIV-1, all DP thymocytes were
induced by HIV-1 infection to express 11-fold (JD infected; Fig. 1
A) or 4-fold (NL4-3 infected; Fig. 1
B) higher
levels of MHCI. The differences in basal level MCF of MHCI in the two
experiments were due to the setting differences of the FACScan
cytometer in different experiments. Multiple mock samples in the same
experiment always showed similar basal MHCI levels (data not shown).
After HIV-1 infection, surface MHCI expression on
CD4-CD8- (DN) and CD4+ or
CD8+ SP thymocytes was also enhanced by 2- to 6-fold and 2-
to 3-fold, respectively. This suggests that direct infection of
thymocytes is not necessary for MHCI induction.

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FIGURE 1. HIV-1 infection-induced MHCI expression on immature thymocytes in the
SCID-hu Thy/Liv mouse. A, Mock- or HIV-1 (JD)-infected
Thy/Liv organs were harvested at 14 dpi and analyzed for surface MHCI
expression (W6/32) on each thymocyte subpopulation. Total live cells
were gated based on light scatter profiles. The percentage of each
subpopulation is shown. MHCI expression of each subpopulation is shown
as the mean channel fluorescence (MCF) in the histograms.
B, As in A, NL4-3-infected Thy/Liv organs
(14 dpi) showed similar induction of MHCI on immature thymocytes. The
difference in basal MHCI levels was due to different flow cytometer
settings in different experiments. At least five SCID-hu Thy/Liv mice
mock infected or infected with each HIV-1 isolate were analyzed in more
than three independent experiments, and similar results were observed.
C, The kinetics of MHCI induction on DP thymocytes after
infection with two HIV-1 isolates from multiple experiments are
summarized. JD (diamond) and NL4-3 (square) are pathogenic viruses that
replicate to peak levels at 2 wpi and deplete thymocytes after 34 wpi
(24). Shown is the average fold induction of MHCI on DP thymocytes (MCF
from HIV-1-infected/mock samples) derived from 510 SCID-hu Thy/Liv
mice at each time point.
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Aggregate data from multiple experiments using two different HIV-1
isolates are summarized in Fig. 1
C and Table I
. The induction of MHCI expression on DP
thymocytes appeared to precede HIV-1-induced thymocyte depletion (18, 24). At later stages postinfection, even higher levels of MHCI on DP
thymocytes were induced (Fig. 1
C and Table I
). In agreement
with their activity in replication and pathogenicity in the thymus,
HIV-1 isolates from patients before AIDS (A6/87 and B5/85) or from long
term nonprogressors (D9/90) showed significantly lower levels of MHCI
induction than isolates from the same patients after AIDS progression
(A7/88 and B11/88) or other pathogenic isolates, such as NL4-3, JD, and
EW (19, 24). All DP cells were affected, and the level of induction
correlated with the level of HIV-1 replication, as measured by p24
(Table I
and data not shown).
To confirm the induced expression of MHCI in HIV-1-infected thymus
organs, total thymocytes from mock- or HIV-1-infected (12 or 15 dpi)
Thy/Liv organs were harvested, and MHCI protein was measured by Western
blot analysis with the HC-10 mAb, which reacts with the unfolded
MHCI protein of HLA-A, -B, and -C alleles. Mock- and HIV-1-infected
Thy/Liv organs showed similar percentages of SP and DP thymocytes at 12
dpi and a slight reduction of DP thymocytes at 15 dpi. In agreement
with FACS detection of surface MHCI expression on thymocytes, total
MHCI proteins in thymocytes were induced significantly in
HIV-1-infected samples (Fig. 2
A). Thus, HIV-1 infection of
the SCID-hu Thy/Liv mouse led to induction of MHCI protein expression
in thymocytes.

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FIGURE 2. Induction of MHCI gene expression in HIV-1-infected Thy/Liv organs.
A, SCID-hu Thy/Liv mice infected with mock supernatant
(-) or with JD (+) were harvested at 12 and 15 dpi, and total cell
proteins from an equal number of thymocytes were analyzed by Western
blot with the anti-MHCI mAb, HC-10. Relative MHCI levels on DP
thymocytes and percentage of DP thymocytes from mock- and
HIV-1-infected Thy/Liv organs are presented. B, Total
RNA samples from a mock- or HIV-1-infected SCID-hu Thy/Liv mouse at 2
wpi were analyzed by Northern blot. Relative expression levels of MHCI
mRNA was quantified by phosphorimager. The fold HIV-1-induced MHCI RNA
expression (7.8) is shown. The ß-actin mRNA bands were used to show
the relative amounts of total RNA from mock- or HIV-1-infected samples.
The experiment was repeated three times with similar results.
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To test whether HIV-1 induced MHCI gene transcription in thymocytes,
MHCI mRNA levels were analyzed using an MHCI cDNA probe (44). Similar
levels of induction of MHCI RNA was observed in HIV-1-infected Thy/Liv
organs at 14 dpi (7- to 8-fold; Fig. 2
B). Therefore, HIV-1
infection of the SCID-hu Thy/Liv mouse induced MHCI mRNA expression in
immature thymocytes, probably via increased transcription.
Induction of MHCI on DP thymocytes in HIV-1-infected HF-TOC
To rule out the possibility that murine host factors of SCID-hu
Thy/Liv mice may contribute to the phenotypic changes, we performed
similar experiments in the HF-TOC model (48). As in the SCID-hu Thy/Liv
mouse, HIV-1 infection of HF-TOC also led to induction of MHCI
expression on DP cells (Fig. 3
and Table II
), before any significant thymocyte
depletion. Thus, HIV-1 infection of the human thymus induced MHCI
expression on DP thymocytes. In addition, HIV-1 isolates with different
tropism determinants were all able to induce MHCI expression.
CXCR4-tropic isolates (NL4-3 and EW), CCR5-tropic virus (JR-CSF), and
dual tropic isolate (89.6 and JD) were able to efficiently induce MHCI
expression on DP thymocytes. HXB2 failed to replicate efficiently in
SCID-hu Thy/Liv mice or in HF-TOC (23, 48) and showed no induction of
MHCI.

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FIGURE 3. Induction of MHCI expression in HIV-1-infected HF-TOC assays. HF-TOC
were infected with mock or HIV-1 (NL4-3) supernatant and analyzed at 7
dpi. Two representative HIV-1-infected HF-TOC samples were shown
(HIV-1a and HIV-1b). MHCI expression on DP thymocytes is shown as the
mean channel fluorescence (MCF) in parentheses. The histogram on the
right shows cells expressing intracellular HIV-1 Rev
detected by a separate FACS analysis (Rev-FITC/CD4-PE/CD8-TC). HIV-1
infection (percentage of Rev+) in each thymocyte
subpopulation is presented. CEM cell expression of HIV-1 Rev proteins
(49) was used as a positive control (not shown). HIV-1a and HIV-1b
indicate two independent samples infected with NL4-3. Three independent
experiments were performed with similar results
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Indirect mechanisms are involved in MHCI induction on DP
thymocytes
Using FACS-based detection of HIV-1 Rev proteins (49) in
HIV-1-infected HF-TOC samples, we showed that <5% of the DP
thymocytes were productively infected, whereas all or most DP
thymocytes were induced to express 5- to 9-fold higher levels of MHCI
(Fig. 3
). Therefore, indirect mechanisms were involved in the induction
of MHCI expression on DP thymocyte cells.
As previously reported in HIV-1-infected SCID-hu Thy/Liv mice (15, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24), analysis of HIV-1 proviral DNA loads at various times
postinfection (26 wpi) estimated that <10% of total thymocytes were
directly infected (Fig. 4
A).
High levels of MHCI induction on the majority of DP thymocytes were
observed in the HIV-1-infected Thy/Liv organs (4- to 25-fold). Thus,
most DP thymocytes with high MHCI expression were not directly
infected, especially at early times postinfection.
When DP thymocytes from HIV-1-infected Thy/Liv organs at 2 wpi were
purified, and proviral DNA was measured, <10% (110%, assuming one
proviral genome per cell) were directly infected (Fig. 4
B).
No significant thymocyte depletion was detected at this time point, and
MHCI levels on all DP thymocytes were induced by 7-fold in this Thy/Liv
organ infected with NL4-3.
When productively infected thymocytes were measured by intracellular
staining of HIV-1 Rev, a very low level (15%) of total thymocytes
was detected (Fig. 4C
) at 2 wpi. As shown in a representative Thy/Liv
organ at 2 wpi, DP thymocytes (81%) were induced to express 7-fold
higher MHCI. Therefore, the majority of the DP cells, although induced
to express high levels of MHCI, were not directly infected by HIV-1.
Induction of IL-10 production in HIV-1-infected thymus organs and
IL-10-induced MHCI expression on DP thymocytes
To identify possible cytokines induced by HIV-1 infection, we
analyzed the production of a number of cytokines in HIV-1-infected
Thy/Liv organs or HF-TOC (50). IL-10 production was induced in
HIV-1-infected Thy/Liv organs or HF-TOC by a number of HIV-1 isolates
(Fig. 5
A and data not shown).
IL-10 has been reported to be induced in HIV-1-infected patients (51)
and in lymphoid organs of feline immunodeficiency virus-infected cats
(52). In addition, IL-10 has been reported to, depending on cell type,
inhibit or induce MHC class II expression (53). Both NL4-3- and
JD-infected Thy/Liv organs showed significant induction (2- to 5-fold)
of IL-10 expression at 2 wpi, before significant thymocyte depletion
(Fig. 5
A). Similar induction was observed in the HF-TOC
model. As induction of IL-10 is not directly correlated with levels of
MHIC induction (Fig. 5
A), we further tested the effect of
exogenous IL-10 on MHCI expression in the HF-TOC model. When provided
exogenously in HF-TOC assays, IL-10 induced expression of MHCI on DP
thymocytes in a dose-dependent fashion (Fig. 5
B). Therefore,
HIV-1 infection of the thymus organ led to up-regulation of IL-10
production. Increased levels of IL-10 in the thymus can partly
contribute to the induction of MHCI expression. Other cytokines are
also likely to contribute to the induction of MHCI expression in
HIV-infected thymus organs.

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FIGURE 5. IL-10 is involved in the induction of MHCI expression on DP thymocytes.
A, IL-10 is induced in HIV-1-infected thymus organs.
IL-10 was measured by ELISA with thymocyte cell lysates from SCID-hu
Thy/Liv organs or HF-TOC fragments. SCID-hu Thy/Liv mice infected with
NL4-3 (n = 5) or JD (n = 4) at
2 wpi were analyzed. For HF-TOC assays, NL4-3 (n =
8) or JD (n = 10) infection was analyzed at 48
dpi. Fold IL-10 induction indicates IL-10 levels in HIV-1-infected
samples divided by IL-10 levels from mock-infected samples. SEs are
shown as error bars. B, Induction of MHCI expression by
IL-10 in HF-TOC. HF-TOC was analyzed at 4 days postculture in the
absence or the presence of IL-10. Fold MHCI induction indicates
relative MHCI expression on DP thymocytes from IL-10-treated samples
over that from mock-treated samples. Two independent experiments with
duplicate samples were performed with similar results. SEs are
shown.
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Discussion
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HIV-1 pathogenesis in the thymus plays an important role in AIDS
progression in pediatric patients (7). We report here that HIV-1
infection of the human thymus leads to enhanced expression of MHCI
on immature thymocytes in SCID-hu Thy/Liv mice and in HF-TOC assays via
paracrine mechanisms.
In PBMC or T cell lines, it has been reported that the MHCI level is
down-regulated by HIV-1 infection. HIV-1 Tat, Nef, and Vpu have all
been reported to reduce surface expression of MHCI in HIV-1-infected
cells (54, 55, 56). In our thymus models, the majority of the thymocytes
affected were not directly infected by HIV-1, suggesting that indirect
(viral or host) mediators were induced by HIV-1 infection. Therefore,
the mechanisms of HIV-1-induced MHCI expression in immature thymocytes
are different from those of MHCI suppression in PBL or T cell lines
directly infected by HIV-1.
In addition to production of viral proteins, HIV-1 infection in the
Thy/Liv organ leads to increased production of cytokines such as IL-4,
IL-6, IL-10, and TGF-ß (50). IFN-
, which stimulates MHCI gene
expression, was not significantly induced by HIV-1 in the Thy/Liv organ
at 2 wpi (50) (data not shown). Among the induced cytokines, IL-4
showed no significant activity on MHCI induction in HF-TOC (data not
shown). IL-10, which was shown to inhibit MHC class II expression in
macrophages (53), appeared to induce MHCI expression on thymocytes in
HF-TOC (Fig. 5
B). However, the level of IL-10 induction is
not directly correlated to that of MHCI induction (Fig. 5
A
and data not shown). Other viral or host factors or a combination of
factors may also be involved in the MHCI induction. IL-10-neutralizing
Ab may be employed in the HF-TOC model to confirm that IL-10 is
involved in HIV-1-induced MHCI expression on thymocytes, although
efficient Ab penetration of the HF-TOC fragments has not been
demonstrated.
An important question related to HIV-1-induced thymocyte depletion is
whether direct infection is required. The replication level of HIV-1 in
the Thy/Liv organ is relatively low, especially at early time points.
Less than 10% (maximal estimation) of thymocytes are infected at 2 wpi
as measured by PCR detection of proviral DNA (15, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 57).
This is consistent with the lack of significant mutations during HIV-1
infection in the SCID-hu Thy/Liv mouse (57). Our data show that HIV-1
infection leads to the induction of MHCI expression on all DP
thymocytes, yet only a small fraction of them are directly infected by
HIV-1 (Figs. 1
, 3
, 4
, and 5
). Therefore, indirect mechanisms are
clearly involved, at least at early (1015 dpi) times postinfection. A
recent report suggests that higher viral loads may be detected at later
times postinfection in some biopsies of HIV-1-infected Thy/Liv organs
(25, 39). In the SCID-hu Thy/Liv organs we analyzed, HIV-1 infection
appeared to be comparably lower by PCR even at later time points.
Experimental differences, such as viral infection and/or PCR assays,
may contribute to the discrepancy. The biopsy analysis of
HIV-1-infected Thy/Liv organs, in contrast to whole organs, may also
have biased sampling due to uneven distribution of HIV-1-infected cells
in the Thy/Liv organ.
MHCI expression is usually low on DP thymocytes during thymopoiesis
(Fig 1
A), suggesting that low levels of MHCI on DP cells are
associated with and may be required for proper thymocyte selection
and maturation. It has been reported that thymocytes expressing
allo-MHC can induce allo-specific tolerance in host T cells (41).
Indeed, in transgenic mice overexpressing MHCI (42) or CD8 (43) on
thymocytes, severe thymocyte depletion was observed. This may be due to
increased affinity/avidity among TCR, CD8, and MHCI on DP thymocytes to
interfere with proper intrathymic selection (58).
The exact mechanisms and the significance of HIV-1-induced MHCI
expression on immature thymocytes are not clear. As in the transgenic
mouse models, induction of MHCI expression on DP thymocytes by HIV-1
may contribute to HIV-1-induced thymocyte depletion. MHCI on DP
thymocytes may interact with CD8/TCR to interfere with the proper
selection signals required for thymocyte maturation and survival. In
addition, MHCI itself or in combination with other receptors may
transduce signals affecting cell survival (59, 60). Further studies of
HIV-1 pathogenesis in the SCID-hu Thy/Liv mouse and in the HF-TOC model
will not only help understand the mechanisms of HIV-1-induced thymus
destruction, but will also shed light on the mechanisms of thymocyte
selection and maturation.
 |
Acknowledgments
|
|---|
We thank Drs. Jenny Ting, Roland Tisch, Jeff Frelinger, and Ed
Collins for helpful discussions and reagents; Jennifer Auten and Suzan
Salimi for technical assistance; Larry Arnold for assistance with flow
cytometry; and the tissue culture, oligonucleotide, and the Division of
Laboratory Animal Science facilities of the Lineberger Comprehensive
Cancer Center at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill for support.
We thank the National Institutes of Health AIDS Research and Reference
Reagent Program for providing the 89.6 virus.
 |
Footnotes
|
|---|
1 This work was supported in part by a Basil OConnor Scholar award from March of Dimes (to L.S.), National Institutes of Health Grant AI41356 (to L.S.), a National Institutes of Health training grant (to K.D.), and a fellowship from the Irvington Institute for Immunological Research (to K.D.). 
2 Current address: Xcyte Therapies, Seattle, WA 98134. 
3 Current address: Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94141-9100. 
4 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Lishan Su, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7295. E-mail address: 
5 Abbreviations used in this paper: wpi, weeks postinfection; DP, double positive; HF-TOC, human fetal thymus organ culture; MHCI, MHC class I; SP, single positive; dpi, days postinfection. 
Received for publication January 21, 1999.
Accepted for publication March 31, 1999.
 |
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