Interaction between endogenous bacterial flora and latent HIV infection

Clin Vaccine Immunol. 2013 Jun;20(6):773-9. doi: 10.1128/CVI.00766-12. Epub 2013 Apr 24.

Abstract

Human commensal bacteria do not normally cause any diseases. However, in certain pathological conditions, they exhibit a number of curious behaviors. In HIV infection, these bacteria exhibit bidirectional relationships: whereas they cause opportunistic infections based on immunological deterioration, they also augment HIV replication, in particular, viral replication from latently infected cells, which is attributable to the effect of butyric acid produced by certain anaerobic bacteria by modifying the state of chromatin. Here, we review recent evidence supporting the contributory role of such endogenous microbes in disrupting HIV latency and its potential link to the clinical progression of AIDS.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / epidemiology
  • Bacteria / growth & development*
  • Bacteria / immunology
  • Bacteria / pathogenicity*
  • Bacterial Infections / epidemiology
  • HIV / growth & development*
  • HIV Infections / immunology*
  • HIV Infections / virology*
  • Humans
  • Microbial Interactions*
  • Microbiota*