Expression and coreceptor activity of STRL33/Bonzo on primary peripheral blood lymphocytes

CCR5 and CXCR4 are the major coreceptors that mediate human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) infection, while most simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) isolates use CCR5. A number of alternative coreceptors can also mediate infection of some virus strains in vitro, although little is known about their in vivo relevance. Therefore, we characterized the expression pattern and coreceptor activity of one of these alternative coreceptors, STRL33/Bonzo, using a newly developed monoclonal antibody. In addition to being highly expressed (approximately 1000-7000 STRL33 ABS [antibody binding sites]) on specific subsets of natural killer cells (CD3(-)/CD16(-/low)/CD56(+) and CD3(-)/CD16(low)/CD56(-)) and CD19(+) B lymphocytes (approximately 300-5000 STRL33 ABS), STRL33 was expressed at levels sufficient to support virus infection on freshly isolated, truly naive CD4(+)/CD45RA(+)/CD62L(+) cells (6000-11 000 ABS). STRL33 expression on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was increased by mitogenic stimulation (OKT3/IL-2 [interleukin-2] had a greater effect than phytohemaglutinin (PHA)/IL-2), but it was dramatically decreased upon Ficoll purification. Infection of CCR5(-) human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) showed that 2 different SIV envelope (Env) proteins mediated entry into STRL33(+) cells. More importantly, the preferential infection of STRL33(+) cells in CCR5(-) PBLs by an R5/X4/STRL33 HIV-1 maternal isolate in the presence of a potent CXCR4 antagonist (AMD3100) suggests that STRL33 can be used as a coreceptor by HIV-1 on primary cells. Rhesus macaque (rh) STRL33 was used less efficiently than human STRL33 by the majority of SIV Env proteins tested despite similar levels of expression, thereby making it less likely that STRL33 is a relevant coreceptor in the rhesus macaque system. In summary, the expression pattern and coreceptor activity of STRL33 suggest its involvement in trafficking of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and indicate that STRL33 may be a relevant coreceptor in vivo.