HIV-derived lentiviral particles promote T-cell independent activation and differentiation of naïve cognate conventional B2-cells in vitro

In animal models, lentiviral particles (LP) were shown to be promising HIV vaccine candidates. Since little is known about the direct impact of LP on antigen-specific B cells, we incorporated Hen Egg Lysozyme (HEL) into LP (HEL-LP) derived from HIV to study their effect on HEL-specific, B cell receptor-transgenic B-cells (HEL+B-cells) in vitro. We observed preferential binding of HEL-LP to HEL+B-cells and their efficient internalization. HEL-LP were able to effectively cross-link B-cell receptors as indicated by the loss of surface CD62L. In the absence of CD4+ T-cells, other activation events induced by LP in cognate naïve B-cells included increased expression of activation and co-stimulatory molecules as well as an enhanced proliferative response. Additionally, the B-cell phenotype shifted toward a germinal center pattern with further differentiation into memory and IgG3- and IgA-producing cells. The observed CD4+ T-cell independent activation and differentiation may be due to LP-induced expression of CD40L by a subset of cognate B-cells. Thus, even in the absence of CD4+ T-cells LP provide strong direct activation signals to cognate naïve B-cells, which may contribute to the strong humoral immune responses observed after LP immunization.