Apoptosis as a mechanism of cell death in cultured T lymphoblasts acutely infected with HIV-1.

C Terai; R S Kornbluth; C D Pauza; D D Richman; D A Carson

doi:10.1172/JCI115188

First published May 1, 1991 - More info

The mechanisms by which HIV-1 infection kills T lymphocytes are not clearly established. Apoptosis is an internally programmed cell death pathway that may regulate both T cell development and senescence, and that is characterized by cleavage of DNA at internucleosomal regions. The present experiments show that acute HIV-1 infection of MT2 lymphoblasts and activated normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells induces apoptosis. The addition of anti-gp120 neutralizing antibody, after HIV-1 infection of MT2 cells, permitted sustained high levels of viral replication, but blocked apoptosis and cell death. Apoptosis may account for the direct cytopathologic effects of HIV-1 in T cells.

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