HIV-1 and the Self-Nonself Connection: How to Sleep With the Enemy and Be Much Better Off
Lucia Lopalco 1, Samuele E. Burastero 1
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*Correspondence: Lucia Lopalco, Email not available
Abstract
Envelope-based immunogens capable of generating high titers of neutralizing antibodies have untilnow been difficult to generate, or failed to act as useful vaccines to prevent HIV-1 infection and diseaseprogression. On the other hand, humoral immune responses to self and allogeneic cellular antigensinvolved in HIV-1 docking and entry are present both in infected patients and in subjects with naturalresistance to HIV-1 infection, where they share similarities but also display definite differences. Bydissecting these subtle differences, crucial cellular and molecular markers, possibly correlated withnatural resistance to HIV-1 and with the modulation of clinical progression in stably infected patients,have been identified. Here, state-of-the art knowledge on anti-self immune responses followinginfection or exposure to HIV will be reviewed. The possible implications of these mechanisms in thedesign of unconventional therapies aimed to counteract the peculiar HIV-1 capability to circumventthe immune system will be discussed.
