The Transcriptome of HIV-1 Infected Intestinal CD4+ T cells Exposed to Enteric Bacteria

The gastrointestinal tract is a major site of early HIV-1 replication and death of CD4+ T cells. As HIV-1 replicates in the gut, the protective epithelial barrier gets disrupted, leading to the entry of bacteria into the underlying tissue and the bloodstream, leading to inflammation and clinical complications even in HIV-1-infected patients taking antiviral drugs. Counteracting these pathogenic processes may require in-depth understanding of the molecular pathways that HIV-1 and microbes utilize to infect, functionally alter and/or kill CD4+ T cells. However, to date, the nature of the genes altered by relevant HIV-1 strains and bacteria in intestinal CD4+ T cells remains unclear.

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Yoder AC, Guo K, Dillon SM, Phang T, Lee EJ, Harper MS, Helm K, Kappes JC, Ochsenbauer C, McCarter MD, Wilson CC, Santiago ML