Anatomical, subset, and HIV-dependent expression of viral sensors and restriction factors

Abstract

We developed viral sensor and restriction factor-cytometry by time of flight (VISOR-CyTOF), which profiles 19 viral sensors and restriction factors (VISORs) simultaneously in single cells, and applied it to 41 postmortem tissues from people with HIV. Mucosal myeloid cells are well equipped with SAMHD1 and sensors of viral capsid and DNA while CD4⁺ T cells are not. In lymph node CD4⁺ Tfh, VISOR expression patterns reflect those favoring integration but blocking HIV gene expression, thus favoring viral latency. We also identify small subsets of bone marrow-, lung-, and gut-associated CD4⁺ T and myeloid cells expressing high levels of restriction factors targeting most stages of the HIV replication cycle. In vitro, HIV preferentially fuses to CD4⁺ T cells with a permissive VISOR profile, but early induction of select VISORs by T1IFN prevents productive HIV infection. Our findings document the diverse patterns of VISOR profiles across tissues and cellular subsets and define their association with susceptibility to HIV.

Keywords: CD4(+) T cells; CP: Immunology; CyTOF; HIV-1; IFN; SAMHD1; myeloid cells; postmortem tissues; viral sensing and restriction.