Description:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Immunohistological and electron microscopy studies of lymph nodes from patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV‐1) demonstrated that follicular dendritic cells (FDC), the antigen‐presenting cells of the B cell system, contain and may produce the virus. To elucidate the mode of infection of FDC with HIV‐1 <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic> we developed an improved method for the preparation of single‐cell suspensions of viable FDC with high purity (>90% FDC). These isolated FDC were subjected to human T cell leukemia virus IIIB infection, which was monitored after 4 days in culture using the polymerase chain reaction. We were able to demonstrate that normal human FDC are highly susceptible to infection by HIV‐1. Inhibition experiments with the monoclonal antibody OKT4a demonstrate that this infection is independent of the CD4 molecule.</jats:p>