Inefficient Nef-Mediated Downmodulation of CD3 and MHC-I Correlates with Loss of CD4+ T Cells in Natural SIV Infection
Figure 2
SIVsmm nef alleles derived from CD4high SMs are particularly active in downmodulating CD3 and MHC-I.
(A) Surface expression of CD3, CD4 and MHC-I on PBMCs infected with HIV-1 Nef/eGFP constructs expressing eGFP alone (nef-) or together with indicated nef alleles. 239 specifies the SIVmac239 Nef. (B) Quantitative assessment of Nef-mediated downmodulation of the indicated cellular receptors on Jurkat cells, PBMCs and CD8-depleted PBMCs. SIVsmm nef genes were grouped by CD4+ T cell counts of the animals from which they were amplified and are color coded red and green, respectively. Each symbol represents n-fold down-modulation of the indicated receptor molecule by one of the 26 NL4-3 recombinants expressing primary bulk SIVsmm nef alleles analyzed. Similar results were obtained in two independent experiments. P-values <0.05 are indicated.