IL-10 Produced by HIV-1-Infected Pregnant Women Reduces Viral Replication: Effect Enhanced by Anti-Retroviral Therapy

Abstract
Since the beginning of the HIV infection epidemic, the number of infected young women has increased considerably bringing important consequences to the vertical transmission of the virus. In this context, few studies have evaluated the impact of maternal cytokines on viral replication during pregnancy. Recent studies performed by our group have demonstrated an inverse relation between the plasma viral load and the ability of HIV-1-infected pregnant women to produce IL-10. Additionally, the neutralization of this cytokine enhanced the viral fitness in cultures containing activated T lymphocytes. The study reported here, aimed to investigate the molecular events involved in the anti-HIV-1 action of IL-10 and the impact of anti-retroviral therapy on this phenomenon. Our results suggest that the effect of IL-10 in reducing the number of HIV-1 copies in cultures must be related to the ability of this cytokine to inhibit the production of IL-1 and TNF- , which are known to enhance viral replication in vitro. Interestingly, the anti-retroviral treatment of pregnant women elevated the systemic production of IL-10. These results suggest that the IL-10 produced by HIV-1-infected pregnant women reduces viral replication, and that that effect is increased by the anti-retroviral treatment.

Key words
pregnancy and HIV infection, IL-10 and HIV, inflammatory cytokines and HIV, anti-retroviral therapy and cytokines, AZT and cytokines, NVP and cytokines

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