Leukemia inhibitory factor inhibits HIV-1 replication and is upregulated in placentae from nontransmitting women

Bruce K. Patterson*, Homira Behbahani, William J. Kabat, Yvonne Sullivan, Maurice R.G. O'Gorman, Alan Landay, Zareefa Flener, Nadia Khan, Ram Yogev, Jan Andersson

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

74 Scopus citations

Abstract

The placenta may play a critical role in inhibiting vertical transmission of HIV-1. Here we demonstrate that leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is a potent endogenous HIV-1-suppressive factor produced locally in placentae. In vitro, LIF exerted a potent, gp130-LIFRβ - dependent, HIV coreceptor - independent inhibition of HIV-1 replication with IC50 values between 0.1 pg/ml and 0.7 pg/ml, depending on the HIV-1 isolate. LIF also inhibited HIV-1 in placenta and thymus tissues grown in ex vivo organ culture. The level of LIF mRNA and the incidence of LIF protein - expressing cells were significantly greater in placentae from HIV-1 - infected women who did not transmit HIV-1 to their fetuses compared with women who transmitted the infection, but they were not significantly different from placentae of uninfected mothers. These findings demonstrate a novel pathway for endogenous HIV suppression that may prove to be an effective immune therapy for HIV infection.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)287-294
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Clinical Investigation
Volume107
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2001

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

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