Type I Interferon Upregulates Bak and Contributes to T Cell Loss during Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection
Figure 7
IFNα-induced gene expression is increased in HIV-1 infection and correlates with Bak expression, CD95/Fas-induced T cell apoptosis and CD4+ T cell loss.
(A) Ex vivo IFI6-16 and (B) ISG56 levels as measured by real-time RT PCR are significantly increased in HIV-1-infected patients (n = 7–14) compared to healthy donors (n = 6–8). P values were calculated by using the Wilcoxon signed rank test for unpaired samples. Spearman's rho correlations shown between IFI6-16 expression in PBMC and (C) ex vivo T cell Bak expression (n = 11), (D) ex vivo T cell Bax expression (n = 11) (E) ex vivo T cell Bim expression (n = 7) (F) ex vivo CD95/Fas-mediated T cell apoptosis sensitivity (n = 12) and (G) CD4+ T cell counts (n = 10) in ART-naive HIV-1-infected individuals. Correlations are shown for ART-naïve HIV-1-infected patients (n = 7) between plasma viral load and (H) IFI6-16 mRNA levels, (I) ISG56 mRNA levels. Spearman's rho correlations depicted between CD95/Fas-specific apoptosis of CD4+ T cells and (J) ISG56 expression, (K) IFI6-16 expression and (L) plasma viral load in ART-naïve HIV-1 patients.