A role for TLR signaling during B cell activation in antiretroviral-treated HIV individuals

The mechanisms underlying B cell activation that persists during antiretroviral therapy (ART) are unknown. Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling is a critical mediator of innate cell activation and though B cells express TLRs, few studies have investigated a role for TLR signaling in B cell activation during HIV infection. We addressed this question by assessing the activated phenotype and TLR expression/responsiveness of B cells from ART-treated HIV-infected subjects (HIVART(+)). We evaluated activation markers implicated in B cell-mediated T cell trans infection during HIV pathogenesis. We found no significant difference in TLR expression between B cells of HIVART(+) and HIV(-) subjects. However, B cells of HIVART(+) subjects exhibited heightened endogenous expression levels of IL-6 (p=0.0051), T cell cognate ligands CD40 (p=0.0475), CD54 (p=0.0229), and phosphorylated p38 (p