Analysis of the Interaction Between HIV and Periodontopathic Bacteria That Reactivates HIV Replication in Latently Infected Cells

Abstract

The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) pandemic caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a major global health concern affecting 38 million people worldwide. HIV gene expression is the major determinant of the rate of viral replication leading to the progression of AIDS. The persistence of cellular reservoirs of HIV proviruses, despite prolonged treatment with antiretroviral drugs, represents the main obstacle preventing the eradication of HIV. Epigenetic silencing by histone deacetylase (HDAC) contributes to maintaining HIV transcriptional latency. However, the mechanism of the switch from latency to full HIV replication is unknown. HIV infection and antiretroviral treatment or a combination of both contribute to a higher incidence and severity of periodontitis. Periodontopathic bacteria such as Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum produce high concentrations of butyric acid, which strongly inhibit HDAC, indicating that periodontitis may mediate the reactivation of HIV replication. Here we describe a stepwise protocol for analyzing HIV reactivation by periodontal pathogens. However, the experiments using HIV requires BSL3 containment, making it difficult to handle HIV in dentistry. Therefore, we present an experimental method using cell lines latently infected with HIV.