Abstract
Most infants exposed to HIV-1 in utero and at delivery do not acquire infection. We show that mothers and infants who have CD3-negative cells that respond to HIV-1 peptides are substantially less likely to transmit and acquire infection, respectively. The CD3-negative cells, shown to be NK cells, respond with remarkable specificity and high magnitude to HIV-1 peptides from Env (envelope) and Reg (regulatory) protein regions, as measured by a whole blood intracellular cytokine assay only in the context of HIV-1 infection or exposure. These findings identify an important new measure of protective immunity to HIV-1 that highlights the importance of innate immunity in preventing the establishment of HIV-1 infection.
Footnotes
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↵1 This study was supported in part by the South African AIDS Vaccine Initiative, the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (Grant 42402), and the Wellcome Trust. C.T.T. is a Wellcome Trust International Senior Research Fellow (076352/Z/05/Z).
↵2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Prof. Caroline T. Tiemessen, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Private Bag X4, Sandringham 2131, South Africa. E-mail address: carolinet{at}nicd.ac.za
- Received February 17, 2009.
- Accepted March 24, 2009.
- Copyright © 2009 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.
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