Antigen-presenting properties of cDCs after exposure to HIV-1.

(A): Representative flow cytometry plots reflecting proliferation of CD4⁺ T cells after stimulation with allogeneic uninfected (Med) or HIV-1 infected (HIV) cDCs from Neg, CP, EC and HAART patients. Numbers in flow cytometry plots represent the proportion of proliferating CFSE^low T cells. (B–C): Induction of allogeneic CD4 (B; n = 8) and CD8 T (C; n = 7) cell proliferation after exposure to HIV-1 infected cDC from indicated study cohorts. Horizontal lines represent the median for each specific cohort and experimental condition. (D): Representative flow cytometry dot plots reflecting IFN-γ secretion in an HLA-A2-SL9 (SLYNTVATL)-specific CTL cell line after 16 hours of co-culture with uninfected or HIV-1-infected cDCs from Neg, CP, EC and HAART individuals. (E): Proportion of IFNγ⁺ cells in the SL9 CTL cell line after exposure to HIV-1-infected cDCs from indicated study groups. Cumulative data from n = 8 experiments are shown. (B,C,E): Differences within and among study groups were tested for statistical significance using a Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test rank test or a Mann Whitney test corrected for multiple comparisons using Bonferroni method, respectively. * p<0.05; ** p<0.01. (F): Induction of allogeneic CD4 (left; n = 7) and CD8 (right; n = 7) T cell proliferation after exposure to cDC from EC cultured in the presence of media (Med) or infected with HIV-1 in the presence or absence of AZT or RAL. Statistical significance of differences was tested using a Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test. Bonferroni correction was applied for multiple comparisons.* p<0.05. (E-F): Horizontal lines represent the median for each specific cohort and experimental condition.