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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Assessing the Innate Sensing of HIV-1 Infected CD4+ T Cells by Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells Using an Ex vivo Co-culture System.
Published on: September 1, 2015
Naive CD4+ T cells synthesize a hyaluronan-rich glycocalyx that is diminished following activation
Laxmi Prasad Adhikari1, Jessica Contreras2, Kristen M Patterson1
1Microbiology and Immunology, Center for Cancer Cell Biology, Immunology, and Infection, Chicago Medical School and School for Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA.
Abstract:
Hyaluronan (HA) is a key component of the pericellular and extracellular matrix and is synthesized by both non-hematopoietic and myeloid cells. In this study, we demonstrate that adaptive immune T cells not only respond to exogenously added high-molecular-weight HA by reducing proliferation but also generate an endogenous HA-rich glycocalyx in a stage-specific manner, as shown by fluorescence assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis and imaging studies. HA in the glycocalyx of naive CD4+ T cells, localized with the HA-binding proteoglycan, versican (VCAN). During differentiation into effector subsets, pericellular HA/VCAN is removed, with HA detected intracellularly, often co-localized with CD44. Hyaluronan synthase 3 (HAS3) is the predominant enzyme in naive CD4+ T cells, as HAS3-deficient T cells display minimal surface HA and exhibit extensive proliferation. We discuss the significance of the metabolic turnover of the HA/VCAN glycocalyx in T cells as a mechanism to regulate activation and proliferation.
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