Ricerc@Sapienza

HIV infection is characterized by a state of chronic activation of the immune system, which is not completely reversed by antiretroviral treatment (ART). The aim of this study was to assess myeloid and lymphoid activation markers during HIV infection, before and one year after ART initiation, in AIDS and non-AIDS presenters. Treatment naïve HIV positive patients were enrolled in this study. Myeloid dendritic cell (mDC), plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC), slanDC, monocyte and T-lymphocyte cell counts and activation status, were assessed by flow cytometry in peripheral blood samples.

Alteration in endogenous Interferon (IFN) system may profoundly impact immune cell function in autoimmune
diseases.
Here, we provide evidence that dysregulation in IFN-regulated genes and pathways are involved in B cell- and
monocyte-driven pathogenic contribution to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) development and maintenance.
In particular, by using an Interferome-based cell type-specific approach, we characterized an increased susceptibility to an IFN-linked caspase-3 dependent apoptotic cell death in both B cells and monocytes of MS