AUTHOR=Ruffin Nicolas , Hong Pham Thang , Rethi Bence , Nilsson Anna , Chiodi Francesca TITLE=The Impact of Inflammation and Immune Activation on B Cell Differentiation during HIV-1 Infection JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=2 YEAR=2012 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2011.00090 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2011.00090 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=

One important pathogenic feature of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection is chronic immune activation and impaired survival of T and B cells. A decline of resting memory B cells was reported to occur in both children and adults infected with HIV-1; these cells are responsible for maintaining an adequate serological response to antigens previously encountered in life through natural infection or vaccination. Further understanding of the mechanisms leading to impaired B cell differentiation and germinal center reaction might be essential to design new HIV vaccines and therapies that could improve humoral immune responses in HIV-1 infected individuals. In the present article we summarize the literature and present our view on critical mechanisms of B cell development impaired during HIV-1 infection. We also discuss the impact of microbial translocation, a driving force for persistent inflammation during HIV-1 infection, on survival of terminally differentiated B cells and how the altered expression of cytokines/chemokines pivotal for communication between T and B cells in lymphoid tissues may impair formation of memory B cells.