Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes : JAIDS
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J. Acquir. Immune Defic. Syndr. · Aug 2008
Increased interferon alpha expression in circulating plasmacytoid dendritic cells of HIV-1-infected patients.
The role of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) and interferon alpha (IFN alpha) in HIV-1 infection is still unclear. On one hand, HIV-1 disease is associated with a progressive decline of pDC, which displays reduced ability to produce IFN alpha after in vitro challenge. On the other hand, high IFN alpha serum levels in HIV-1-infected individuals have been proposed to promote immune hyper-activation and disease progression. ⋯ Circulating pDC decline sharply in the course of HIV-1 disease, but express high levels of IFN alpha, which may represent a hallmark of systemic immune dysfunction.