CD4 as the receptor for retroviruses of the HTLV family: immunopathogenetic implications

Editorial to the Special Issue "Clinical Immunology in Italy, with Special Emphasis to Primary and Acquired Immunodeficiencies: A Commemorative Issue in Honor of Prof. Fernando Aiuti"

Fernando Aiuti (Figure 1), born in Urbino on 8 June 1935, suddenly died on 9 January 2019, leaving a great void not only among his family members and those who knew him and appreciated his great humanity and acute intelligence, but in the entire immunological scientific community [...].

Population levels of psychological stress, herpesvirus reactivation and HIV

Nearly 40,000 Americans are newly infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) each year. Recently, studies have demonstrated associations between group-level characteristics and the prevalence and incidence of HIV/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and other sexually transmitted diseases. Two mechanisms previously posited to explain these associations are neighborhood effects on risk behaviors and social or institutional policies. In this paper, we hypothesize that adversity at the population level, such as neighborhood poverty, also influences HIV risk through stress-mediated aberrations in immunological susceptibility by reviewing existing data examining each of these pathways. In particular, we review the evidence showing that: (1) Neighborhood ecologic stressors influence neighborhood- and individual-levels of mental health, psychosocial stress, and HIV/AIDS risk, (2) Individual-level psychosocial stressors influence progression from HIV to AIDS through stress-related hormonal changes, and (3) Individual-level psychosocial stressors influence HIV acquisition via stress-related reactivation of latent herpesviruses, specifically EBV and HSV-2. Our review indicates that further studies are needed to examine the joint pathways linking neighborhood-level sources of psychosocial stress, stress-related reactivation of HSV-2 and EBV, and increased acquisition rates of HIV. We suggest using a multi-level framework for targeting HIV prevention efforts that address not only behavioral risk factors, but structural, political, and institutional factors associated with neighborhood disadvantage, levels of psychosocial stress, and prevention or treatment of HSV-2 and EBV.

Stress management and psychoneuroimmunology in HIV infection

Does stress management affect psychological and immune functioning in persons with human immunodeficiency virus infections? Stress-management techniques, such as relaxation training and imagery, cognitive restructuring, coping-skills training, and interpersonal-skills training, may reduce anxiety, depression, and social isolation in HIV-infected persons by lowering physical tension and increasing a sense of control and self-efficacy. A psychoneuroimmunologic model is proposed wherein these psychological changes are hypothesized to be accompanied by an improved ability to regulate neuroendocrine functioning, which in turn may be associated with a partial normalization of immune system functions such as lymphocyte proliferation and cytotoxicity, providing more efficient surveillance of latent viruses that may contribute directly to increased HIV replication and generate opportunistic infections or cancer if left unchecked. Such a normalization of stress-associated immune system decrements are hypothesized to forestall or minimize increases in viral load and expression of clinical symptoms. This model is useful for testing the factors contributing to the health effects of stress-management interventions in HIV-infected persons. In this context, one general research strategy for testing the effects of stress-management interventions is to target them toward the more prevalent psychosocial challenges that HIV-infected people face at various points in the disease process; enroll an HIV-infected population (eg, HIV-positive homosexual and bisexual men) into a randomized trial; and monitor changes in cognitive, affective, behavioral, and social factors in parallel with hormonal, immunologic, viral, and clinical changes over the course of time. This article will review the major psychoneuroimmunologic findings that have emerged using this paradigm and suggest future research directions and clinical applications.