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Alveolar Macrophages from HIV-Infected Subjects are Resistant to Mycobacterium tuberculosis In Vitro

Division of Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Indiana University Medical Center, Indianapolis, Indiana

Address correspondence to: Homer L. Twigg III, M.D., Indiana University Medical Center, 1481 West 10th St., 111P-IU, Indianapolis, IN 46202. E-mail: htwig{at}iupui.edu

HIV-infected individuals frequently develop Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection. Alveolar macrophages (AM) are the initial host defense against this organism. We measured MTB growth in AM from normal and HIV-infected subjects after in vitro exposure. Intracellular growth of MTB was reduced in AM from HIV-infected subjects compared with normal macrophages. This was confined to subjects with CD4 counts greater than 200/µl. Growth of avirulent mycobacteria in HIV macrophages was significantly less than virulent MTB. Because avirulent MTB is more sensitive to tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-), we examined the relationship between cytokine secretion and mycobacterial growth. Higher AM spontaneous TNF- secretion was associated with reduced MTB growth in normal AM. This relationship was not seen in HIV-infected subjects, suggesting that other factors contributed to mycobacteria resistance. Mycobacteria-induced TNF- secretion was inversely associated with growth in normal AM but not in HIV-infected subjects. Finally, binding and internalization of MTB was augmented in HIV macrophages compared with normal, demonstrating that reduced intracellular MTB growth was not due to impaired phagocytosis. In conclusion, the increased incidence of MTB infection in HIV-infected subjects does not appear to be due to a defect in macrophage innate immunity.

Abbreviations: alveolar macrophages, AM • bronchoalveolar lavage, BAL • enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, ELISA • fluorescein isothiocyanate, FITC • monocytes, Mo • Mycobacterium tuberculosis, MTB • peripheral blood mononuclear cells, PBMCs • phosphate-buffered saline, PBS • tumor necrosis factor-, TNF-

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