FIG. 4.

Ex vivo PIO treatment reverses chronic HIV infection-associated alterations in mRNA and protein levels of PPARγ, Nox1, Nox2, Nox4, and TGFβ₁ and improves phagocytosis in AMs. AMs were collected from HIV-infected subjects and were treated with PIO (HIV + PIO) or dimethyl sulfoxide vehicle (HIV) (n = 4). mRNA levels of PPARγ (A), Nox1 (B), Nox2 (C), Nox4 (D), and TGFβ₁ (E) were measured by qRT-PCR (n = 8, in duplicate), normalized to 9s mRNA, and expressed as mean ± SEM, relative to HIV. AM phagocytic ability (F) was assessed by phagocytosis assay and fluorescent microscopy imaging (10 fields per experimental condition). Phagocytic index was calculated as the percentage of phagocytic cells multiplied by the relative fluorescence units of S. aureus per cell. All values were expressed as mean ± SEM, relative to HIV. *p < .05 versus HIV. PIO, pioglitazone.