CD11c+ Myeloid Dendritic Cells (mDCs) were isolated from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of HIV uninfected and HIV infected subjects.

The expression of CD11c+ mDCs was accessed to determine how HIV infection may play a role on the expression profiles of these cells. mDCs are known to play a role in antigen presentation, and thus are pivotal in immune sensing and priming of the adaptive immune response. We wanted to see if the change in immune system function during chronic HIV infection may be due to defects in this cell subtype.

We used microarray analysis to detail the global program of gene expression underlying changes in mDC function during HIV infection.

PBMCs were isolated from HIV uninfected and HIV infected blood samples. CD11c+ cells were sorted from the whole PBMC population by magnetic bead sorting (anti-CD11c antibody bound to a magnetic bead inclubated with whole PBMCs). RNA was isolated from this sorted population to get the gene expression of this subtype of cells.