Author(s): Farias, Guilherme B. ; Badura, Robert ; Conceição, Carolina M. ; Gomes, André ; Godinho-Santos, Ana ; Laia, Joel ; Rosmaninho, Pedro ; Santos, Diana ; Mota, Catarina ; Almeida, Afonso ; Fernandes, Susana M. ; Trombetta, Amelia Chiara ; Sousa, Ana E.
Date: 2021
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10451/49864
Origin: Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa
Subject(s): COVID-19; M-DC8; Acute HIV-1 infection; Dendritic cells; Monocytes; Slan
Monocytes are key modulators in acute viral infections, determining both inflammation and development of specific B- and T-cell responses. Recently, these cells were shown to be associated to different SARS-CoV-2 infection outcome. However, their role in acute HIV-1 infection remains unclear. We had the opportunity to evaluate the mononuclear cell compartment in an early hyper-acute HIV-1 patient in comparison with an untreated chronic HIV-1 and a cohort of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients, by high dimensional flow cytometry using an unsupervised approach. A distinct polarization of the monocyte phenotype was observed in the two viral infections, with maintenance of pro-inflammatory M1-like profile in HIV-1, in contrast to the M2-like immunosuppressive shift in SARS-CoV-2. Noticeably, both acute infections had reduced CD14low/-CD16+ non-classical monocytes, with depletion of the population expressing Slan (6-sulfo LacNac), which is thought to contribute to immune surveillance through pro-inflammatory properties. This depletion indicates a potential role of these cells in acute viral infection, which has not previously been explored. The inflammatory state accompanied by the depletion of Slan+ monocytes may provide new insights on the critical events that determine the rate of viral set-point in acute HIV-1 infection and subsequent impact on transmission and reservoir establishment.
