Natural killer cells during acute HIV-1 infection: clues for HIV-1 prevention and therapy

Abstract

Despite progress in preexposure prophylaxis, the number of newly diagnosed cases with HIV-1 remains high, highlighting the urgent need for preventive and therapeutic strategies to reduce HIV-1 acquisition and limit disease progression. Early immunological events, occurring during acute infection, are key determinants of the outcome and course of disease. Understanding early immune responses occurring before viral set-point is established, is critical to identify potential targets for prophylactic and therapeutic approaches. Natural killer (NK) cells represent a key cellular component of innate immunity and contribute to the early host defence against HIV-1 infection, modulating the pathogenesis of acute HIV-1 infection (AHI). Emerging studies have identified tools for harnessing NK cell responses and expanding specialized NK subpopulations with adaptive/memory features, paving the way for development of novel HIV-1 therapeutics. This review highlights the knowns and unknowns regarding the role of NK cell subsets in the containment of acute HIV-1 infection, and summarizes recent advances in selectively augmenting NK cell functions through prophylactic and therapeutic interventions.

Natural killer cell responses during SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination in people living with HIV-1

“…We and others have previously described that these subsets in HIV-1 and other viral infections are partly driven by HCMV co-infection/reactivation and the level of proinflammatory cytokines 39,52,74,75 . Although it is possible that some of these changes could reflect the impact of HIV-1 on NK cell repertoire [76][77][78] , these data are also consistent with the expansion of adaptive NK cells during COVID-19 infection in HCMV-seropositive HIV-negative individuals 14,48,53,54 . Increased maturation and NK cell 'adaptiveness' could reflect the distinct microbial stimuli/exposure and/or epigenetic remodeling following an acute infection or vaccination [40][41][42][79][80][81] .…”

Combined Dendritic Cell And Anti-TIGIT Immunotherapy Potentiate Trail+ Memory NK Cells Against HIV-1 Infected Cells

“…NK cells are innate immune cells with antiviral capacities that have been shown to be essential to control HIV replication in vivo in animal models (32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38) and in spontaneous and post-treatment controllers (15,(39)(40)(41). Although some studies point to their promising therapeutic potential against HIV-1, modulation of NK cells has been less explored (37,(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47). Therefore, enhancing the activity of these cells has currently become an area of active research.…”