Salahuddin S Z, Rose R M, Groopman J E, Markham P D, Gallo R C
Blood. 1986 Jul;68(1):281-4.
The human T-cell lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III) is the etiologic agent of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and preferentially infects T4 lymphocytes. Other cell types, notably B lymphocytes and other nonlymphoid cells, also have been reported to be infected in vitro by HTLV-III. We now report on the susceptibility of human pulmonary macrophages to infection with HTLV-III in vitro. Alveolar macrophages infected with HTLV-III produced low levels of virus that could be transferred to allogeneic human peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes as long as 2 weeks after initiation of infection. Unlike HTLV-III infection of T lymphocytes, macrophages appeared more resistant to viral-mediated cytopathic effects. Primary cultures of pulmonary macrophages from two of four patients with AIDS spontaneously produced low levels of virus detected as precipitable reverse transcriptase activity, suggesting that these cells were infected in vivo. Because tissue macrophages are long-lived cells, they may act as a reservoir of HTLV-III, capable of transmitting the virus to other susceptible cells such as T lymphocytes, causing periodic low-level viremia. Macrophage infection with HTLV-III may be one mechanism for the establishment of viral persistence in infected hosts.
人类嗜T细胞病毒III型（HTLV-III）是获得性免疫缺陷综合征（AIDS）的病原体，且优先感染T4淋巴细胞。据报道，其他细胞类型，尤其是B淋巴细胞和其他非淋巴细胞，在体外也会被HTLV-III感染。我们现在报告人类肺巨噬细胞在体外对HTLV-III感染的易感性。感染HTLV-III的肺泡巨噬细胞产生低水平的病毒，这些病毒在感染开始后长达2周的时间里都可以转移到同种异体人外周血单核白细胞中。与HTLV-III感染T淋巴细胞不同，巨噬细胞似乎对病毒介导的细胞病变效应更具抵抗力。在4名艾滋病患者中，有2名患者的肺巨噬细胞原代培养物自发产生低水平的病毒，通过可沉淀的逆转录酶活性检测到，这表明这些细胞在体内被感染。由于组织巨噬细胞是长寿细胞，它们可能充当HTLV-III的储存库，能够将病毒传播给其他易感细胞，如T淋巴细胞，导致周期性的低水平病毒血症。巨噬细胞感染HTLV-III可能是病毒在受感染宿主中持续存在的一种机制。
