2012 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Examination of the participation in HIV infection of the VitaminD3 and HSV-2 using the humanized mouse

Research Project

Project/Area Number	23659545
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Dermatology
Research Institution	University of Yamanashi
Principal Investigator	SHIMADA Shinji 山梨大学, 大学院・医学工学総合研究部, 教授 (10114505)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	KAWAMURA Tatsuyoshi 山梨大学, 医学部附属病院, 講師 (70262657) OGAWA Yoichi 山梨大学, 医学部附属病院, 助教 (20377542) AOKI Rui 山梨大学, 医学部附属病院, 助教 (10377541)
Project Period (FY)	2011 – 2012
Keywords	HIV / HSV-2 / 抗菌ペプチド / ランゲルハンス細胞
Research Abstract	Herpes simplex virus (HSV)-2 shedding is associated with increased risk for sexually acquiring HIV. Because Langerhans cells (LCs)are suspected to be one of the initial target cell types infected by HIV following sexual exposure, we examined whether and how HSV-2 affects HIV infection of LCs. HSV-2 stimulated epithelial cell production of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), including human ・ defensins and LL-37. Culture supernatants of epithelial cells infected with HSV-2 enhanced HIV susceptibility in mLCs, and this effect was abrogated by blocking LL-37 production. These data suggest that HSV-2 enhances sexual transmission of HIV by increasing HIV susceptibility of LCs via epithelial cell production of LL-37.