The differential anti-HIV effect of a new humic substance-derived preparation in diverse cells of the immune system

Abstract

The anti-HIV activity of a new humic substance-derived preparation has been studied in individual pools of immune cells (CD4+ T lymphocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells). Near-complete inhibition of the HIV infection (by more than 90%) was achieved by treating each of the abovementioned cell types with non-toxic concentrations of the preparation. The inhibitory effect demonstrates the possibility of preventing the depletion of a significant portion of functionally important immune cells. A comparative study of infection inhibition in individual cell pools has allowed us to reveal the differences in the preparation's effectiveness in each of the cell populations. A R5-tropic HIV-1 infection in macrophages exhibited maximum sensitivity to the preparation: 90% and 50% inhibition of the infection were observed in the presence of concentrations as low as 1.4 and 0.35 μg/ml, respectively. A 15- and 19-fold higher concentration was required to achieve the same extent of inhibition in dendritic cells infected with the same strain. The effectiveness of the drug in CD4 + T lymphocytes is quite comparable to its effectiveness in macrophages. The drug is universally effective for both the T- and M-tropic variants of HIV-1.