In vitro correlates of HIV-2-mediated HIV-1 protection

A prospective study of high-risk commercial sex workers in Senegal has shown that HIV-2 infection may reduce the risk of subsequent HIV-1 infection; these findings have been confirmed and extended, now with 13 years of observation. While exploring the biological mechanisms behind this natural protection, we found that a significant proportion of peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from HIV-2-infected subjects resisted in vitro challenge with CCR5-dependent HIV-1 viruses but not CXCR4-dependent viruses. High levels of β-chemokines, the natural ligands of the CCR5 coreceptor, were correlated with low levels of viral replication, and resistance was abrogated by antibodies to β-chemokines. Our results suggest that β-chemokine-mediated resistance may be an important correlate of HIV protection against HIV-1 infection and relevant to HIV vaccine design.