Synopsis
Secondary lymphoid organs play a central role in HIV infection, serving as important sites of viral replication, immune dysfunction, and viral persistence. Yet, studying these complex interactions in a physiologically relevant human system remains challenging. Conventional in vitro models often require artificial immune cell activation and can struggle to capture key features of the human immune response to HIV.
In this webinar, Dr. Hongshuo Song from University of South Florida will share how she used Emulate Organ-on-a-Chip technology to create a Lymphoid Organ-Chip to model HIV infection in a dynamic, human-relevant microenvironment. The model supports high-density human immune cells within a 3D extracellular matrix, enabling researchers to investigate how HIV interacts with immune cells in conditions designed to more closely resemble human lymphoid tissue.
Dr. Song demonstrated that multiple HIV strains could productively replicate in the Lymphoid Organ-Chip without artificial T cell activation. The model also recapitulated several hallmarks of HIV immunopathogenesis, including CD4 T cell depletion, changes in the CD8/CD4 ratio, and immune activation. When treated with antiretroviral therapy, viral replication was rapidly suppressed, further demonstrating the model’s potential for studying therapeutic response.
Together, these findings highlight the potential of the Lymphoid Organ-Chip as a human-relevant platform for investigating HIV infection, immunopathogenesis, and viral persistence. The model may also provide new opportunities to study emerging therapies and strategies aimed at achieving long-term viral remission or a functional cure.
Key Learning Points
- How a human Lymphoid Organ-Chip can model HIV infection without the artificial T cell activation commonly required in conventional in vitro systems
- How the model reproduces key features of HIV immunopathogenesis, including CD4 T cell depletion and immune activation
- How antiretroviral therapy affects HIV replication within the Lymphoid Organ-Chip
- How this human-relevant model could support research into HIV persistence, therapeutic response, and future functional cure strategies
