Byh. Chen et al., HIV-1 GP41 ENHANCES MAJOR HISTOCOMPATIBILITY COMPLEX CLASS-I AND ICAM-1 EXPRESSION ON H9 AND U937 CELLS, International archives of allergy and immunology, 104(3), 1994, pp. 227-231
Based on our findings that HIV-1 (human immunodeficiency virus type 1)
soluble gp41 (sgp41; amino acids 539-684) bound to human T,B, and mon
ocyte cells and enhanced major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class
I and II antigen expression on Raji cells, we examined the effect of H
IV-1 sgp41 on the surface expression of MHC I and II, ICAM-1, and CD4
molecules on human H9 and U937 cells. Flow cytometry (FACS) analysis d
emonstrated that sgp41 selectively enhanced MHC class I expression by
about 75% on H9 cells and by about 85% on U937 cells, while the ICAM-1
expression was increased by about 70% only on H9 cells and remained u
naltered on U937 cells; other molecules, such as MHC class II and CD4,
remained unaltered. By comparison, alpha-, beta-, and omega-interfero
ns, but not gamma-interferon, showed similar effects as sgp41 on the e
xpression of MHC class I and ICAM-1 on H9 and U937 cells. The results
suggest that HIV-1 gp41 may have a biological function that is involve
d in the regulation of human MHC class I and ICAM-1 expression.