PD-1 Signaling in HIV and Chronic Viral Infection - Potential for Therapeutic Intervention?
Programmed death-1 (PD-1) is a negative immunoregulatory cell surface receptor molecule whose interaction with its ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2 downmodulates T-cell immune responses. Originally investigated in the context of self-tolerance, PD-1 has more recently been discovered to be upregulated
on T cells of HIV-infected individuals. High levels of PD-1 on HIV-infected T cells are correlated with viral load and with a state of cellular anergy, or ‘ exhaustion’ that results in decreased cellular proliferation, cytotoxic function and cytokine secretion. The finding that
interruption of PD-1 with its ligand PD-L1 rescues HIV-infected cells from this state of anergy or ‘ exhaustion’ presents the promise for therapeutic intervention. Understanding the molecular signaling pathway(s) of PD-1 may provide opportunities for therapeutic intervention, that
may serve as adjunctive therapies to HIV vaccine development. Evidence to date suggests that PD-1 exerts its regulatory effect by interfering with T cell receptor signaling. While certain molecular signals in the PD-1 pathway have been identified, their precise roles and mechanisms of action
remain poorly understood. This article reviews what is currently known about PD-1 signaling in human T cells, and more specifically in T cells of individuals chronically infected with certain viruses such as HIV.
Keywords: HIV; PD-1; T cell receptor; signaling; therapeutic intervention; vaccine
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 01 September 2011
- Current Medicinal Chemistry covers all the latest and outstanding developments in medicinal chemistry and rational drug design. Each issue contains a series of timely in-depth reviews written by leaders in the field covering a range of the current topics in medicinal chemistry. Current Medicinal Chemistry is an essential journal for every medicinal chemist who wishes to be kept informed and up-to-date with the latest and most important developments.
- Editorial Board
- Information for Authors
- Subscribe to this Title
- Ingenta Connect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites
- Access Key
- Free content
- Partial Free content
- New content
- Open access content
- Partial Open access content
- Subscribed content
- Partial Subscribed content
- Free trial content