Galectin-9 binding to Tim-3 renders activated human CD4+ T cells less susceptible to HIV-1 infection

Galectin-9 (Gal-9) is a tandem repeat-type member of the galectin family and is a ligand for T-cell immunoglobulin mucin domain 3 (Tim-3), a type-I glycoprotein that is persistently expressed on dysfunctional T cells during chronic infection. Studies in autoimmune diseases and chronic viral infections show that Tim-3 is a regulatory molecule that inhibits Th1 type immune responses. Here we show that soluble Gal-9 interacts with Tim-3 expressed on the surface of activated CD4(+) T cells and renders them less susceptible to HIV-1 infection and replication. The Gal-9/Tim-3 interaction on activated CD4(+) T cells, leads to down-regulation of HIV-1 coreceptors and up-regulation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 (also known as cip-1 and waf-1). We suggest that higher expression of Tim-3 during chronic infection has evolved to limit persistent immune activation and associated tissue damage. These data demonstrate a novel mechanism for Gal-9/Tim-3 interactions to induce resistance of activated CD4(+) T cells to HIV-1 infection and suggest that Gal-9 may play a role in HIV-1 pathogenesis and could be used as a novel microbicide to prevent HIV-1 infection. (Blood. 2012;119(18):4192-4204)