FIG 3.

Venetoclax increases HIV-infected cell clearance by NK cells. CD4 T cells infected with HIV IIIb, in vitro, were treated with or without the BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax (1 μM) or a vehicle control (DMSO) for 6 h followed by a combination of DMSO/venetoclax with autologous NK cells (1:1 E:T ratio) in duplicate, for 24 h. (A) Schematic of the experimental workflow for NK cell experiments. (B) Representative flow plots comparing the effect of vehicle and venetoclax on NK cell function. (C) Mean (SEM) of 8 experiments, demonstrating the proportion of p24-positive, target cells staining with Live/Dead stain. (D) Mean (SEM) of 8 experiments, demonstrating the proportion of live p24-positive cells in the NK cell cocultures. Significance for the above plots calculated using a matched one-way ANOVA, with Holm-Sidak correction for multiple comparisons. (E) Representations of Bliss independence calculations. Values greater than the predicted combination (dotted line) represent synergy. (F) Supernatant p24 values for the NK cocultures (n = 7) relative to vehicle control, significance calculated using a Friedman’s test, with Dunn’s test for multiple comparisons. Significance defined as P ≤ 0.050.