講演要旨

Macrophages and dendritic cells (DC) are terminally differentiated my-eloid cells that play significant roles in HIV-1 infection. They are not only infected by HIV-1, but also transmit viruses to the other tissues and contribute to viral persistency. Vpr enhances HIV-1 replication in the myeloid cells, but the mechanism is still unknown. Here, we com-pared the Env expression in HIV-1 infected NKR cells, mono-cyte-derived macrophages (MDM), and monocyte derived dendritic cells (MDDC) in the presence and absence of Vpr. We found that Vpr could significantly increase the Env expression, resulting in momen-tous boost of viral replication. Further studies uncovered that Env was subjected to rapid turn over via ERAD in NKR cells and MDDC, when Vpr is absent. We found that the 1st alpha-helix in the Vpr is critical for the enhancement of Env expression and viral replication.