Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor p55 Mediates Induction of HIV Type 1 Expression in Chronically Infected U1 Cells

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Abstract
Tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) is a potent inducer of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) expression in chronically infected cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the role played by the two known TNF-α receptors, TNFR-p55 and TNFR-p75, in the activation of HIV-1 expression. As a model system the latently infected human promonocytic cell line U1 was stimulated with wild-type TNF-α, with TNF-α muteins that specifically bind to one or the other receptor or with receptor-specific monoclonal antibodies. Induction of HIV-1 expression, measured by p24 core antigen capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), was found to be exclusively triggered by TNFR-p55 stimulation. However, our results also showed that the addition of TNFR-p75-specific ligands negatively modulated the HIV-1 expression induced via TNFR-p55.