FIG 3.

ARF1, BIN1, RAB7L1, and RAB8A are regulators virological synapse formation between HIV-1 infected MDDCs and CD4⁺ T cells. (a) Images of CXCR4 HIV-1 R9 (p24 green)-infected, siRNA-transfected MDDCs interacting with CD4⁺ T cells (identified by an asterisk [*]). Actin, red; nuclei, blue. Scale, 10 μm. (b) Quantification of virological synapse formation between MDDCs and CD4⁺ T cells was counted in siRNA-transfected MDDCs infected with HIV-1 R9 and cocultured with autologous CD4⁺ T cells. T cells are identified as the smaller cells with less cytoplasmic content compared to the larger MDDCs in coculture. Data were normalized to MDDCs transfected with nontarget siRNA. The means and SD for three independent donors (n = 500 cells) are shown. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.005. (c) Images of CCR5 HIV-1 R8BAL (p24 green)-infected, siRNA-transfected MDDCs interacting with CD4⁺ T cells (identified by an asterisk [*]). Actin, red; nuclei, blue. Scale, 10 μm. (d) Quantification of virological synapse formation between MDDCs and CD4⁺ T cells was performed in transfected MDDCs infected with HIV-1 R8BAL and cocultured with autologous CD4⁺ T-cells. Data were normalized to MDDCs transfected with nontarget siRNA. The means and SD for three independent donors (n = 300 cells) are shown. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.005.