Researchers publish video of HIV transfer between T-cells

In what is surely a serious blow to AIDS denialists, researchers have published video microscopy of HIV transferring between T-cells:

Quantitative 3D Video Microscopy of HIV Transfer Across T Cell Virological Synapses

Wolfgang Hübner,¹ Gregory P. McNerney,³ Ping Chen,¹ Benjamin M. Dale,¹ Ronald E. Gordon,² Frank Y. S. Chuang,³ Xiao-Dong Li,⁴ David M. Asmuth,⁴ Thomas Huser,^3,4 Benjamin K. Chen^1* The spread of HIV between immune cells is greatly enhanced by cell-cell adhesions called virological synapses, although the underlying mechanisms have been unclear. With use of an infectious, fluorescent clone of HIV, we tracked the movement of Gag in live CD4 T cells and captured the direct translocation of HIV across the virological synapse. Quantitative, high-speed three-dimensional (3D) video microscopy revealed the rapid formation of micrometer-sized "buttons" containing oligomerized viral Gag protein. Electron microscopy showed that these buttons were packed with budding viral crescents. Viral transfer events were observed to form virus-laden internal compartments within target cells. Continuous time-lapse monitoring showed preferential infection through synapses. Thus, HIV dissemination may be enhanced by virological synapse-mediated cell adhesion coupled to viral endocytosis.

Science 27 March 2009:
Vol. 323. no. 5922, pp. 1743 - 1747
DOI: 10.1126/science.1167525 [1]