Interleukin-10 induces the upregulation of the inhibitory receptor ILT4 in monocytes from HIV positive individuals

A characteristic of human immunodeficiency virus infected individuals is an impairment of immune responses, which can result in opportunistic infections. Elevated levels of interleukin-10 (IL-10), produced by vitally infected monocytes, are found in the sera of HIV infected individuals. Such elevated levels have been associated with the impaired function of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells, and antigen presenting cells (APC), such as monocytes. IL-10 has been reported to upregulate the cell surface expression of the inhibitory receptors ILT3 and ILT4 on monocytes and dendritic cells. This study demonstrates that the decreased antigen presenting ability of monocytes in HIV+ individuals is in part due to the upregulation of ILT4 on the monocytes caused by the elevated serum IL-10 levels seen in these individuals.