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This article is part of the supplement: Frontiers of Retrovirology: Complex retroviruses, retroelements and their hosts

Open Access Oral presentation

HIV-1 hijacks tunneling nanotubes and secretory microvesicles for intercellular spread in monocyte-derived macrophages

Irena Kadiu1*, Jan M Orenstein2 and Howard E Gendelman1

  • * Corresponding author: Irena Kadiu

Author Affiliations

1 Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-5800, USA

2 Department of Anatomic Pathology, The George Washington University, Washington DC 20037, USA

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Retrovirology 2009, 6(Suppl 2):O22 doi:10.1186/1742-4690-6-S2-O22

Published: 24 September 2009

First paragraph (this article has no abstract)

Tunneling nanotubes (TNT) are cytoskeletal bridges that support intercellular exchanges of receptors, lysosomes and mitochondria. HIV-1 transmission by intercellular connections such as TNT and immunological synapses may facilitate cellular transmission when compared to classical receptor-mediated mechanisms. This permits for acactive viral spread despite neutralizing antibodies. Mechanisms of TNT formation and pathogen immune escape through TNT transport have generated intense interest after failure of vaccination strategies.