Kokkotou, EfiSankale, J.L.Mani, I.Gueye-Ndiaye, A.Schwartz, D.Essex, MyronMboup, S.Kanki, Phyllis2016-10-252000Kokkotou, E. G., J.-L. Sankale, I. Mani, A. Gueye-Ndiaye, D. Schwartz, M. E. Essex, S. Mboup, and P. J. Kanki. 2000. In Vitro Correlates of HIV-2-Mediated HIV-1 Protection. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 97 (12) (June 6): 6797–6802. doi:10.1073/pnas.97.12.6797.0027-8424http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:29068760A prospective study of high-risk commercial sex workers in Senegal has shown that HIV-2 infection may reduce the risk of subsequent HIV-1 infection; these findings have been confirmed and extended, now with 13 years of observation. While exploring the biological mechanisms behind this natural protection, we found that a significant proportion of peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from HIV-2-infected subjects resisted in vitro challenge with CCR5-dependent HIV-1 viruses but not CXCR4-dependent viruses. High levels of beta-chemokines, the natural ligands of the CCR5 coreceptor, were correlated with low levels of viral replication, and resistance was abrogated by antibodies to beta-chemokines. Our results suggest that beta-chemokine-mediated resistance may be an important correlate of HIV protection against HIV-1 infection and relevant to HIV vaccine design.en-USJournal Article2016-10-2510.1073/pnas.97.12.6797