CONCURRENT HUMAN HERPESVIRUS-6 INFECTION RENDERS 2 HUMAN HEMATOPOIETIC PROGENITOR (TF-1 AND KG-1) CELL-LINES SUSCEPTIBLE TO HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS TYPE-1

In human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) infected individuals, C D34(+) hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells are profoundly impaired in their proliferation/differentiation capacities. The bulk of the availa ble experimental evidence seems to indicate that hematopoietic progeni tors are not susceptible to HIV-1 infection and their defects seem rat her the consequence of direct or indirect negative influences of HIV-1 -specific soluble proteins released by productively infected accessory cells. We have now shown that in the presence of a concurrent human h erpesvirus-6 infection, two hematopoietic (TF-1 [erythromyeloid] and K G-1 [lymphomyeloid]) progenitor cell lines and human CD34(+) hematopoi etic progenitors isolated from the bone marrow of normal donors, becam e susceptible to HIV-1 infection and permissive to HIV-1 replication, although with a limited virus yield. These results suggest a further p ossible mechanism leading to hematopoietic derangement in HIV-l-infect ed subjects and may help to clarify the controversial issue of the sus ceptibility of human hematopoietic progenitors to HIV-1 infection. (C) 1996 by The American Society of Hematology.