O HPgV (Pegivirus Humano), conhecido anteriormente por GBV-C, causa infecção assintomática, persistente e com alta carga viral. Sendo o vírus de RNA sem patologia associada mais prevalente no mundo até os dias de hoje, os estudos in vitro ainda não foram capazes de mimetizar a replicação in vivo, permanecendo pouco esclarecidos vários aspectos de sua biologia. Estudos em macacos mostraram que os órgãos responsáveis pela maior replicação viral são o baço e a medula óssea, no entanto as células específicas permissíveis à infecção ainda não foram determinadas. Na década de 90, o HPgV ganhou notoriedade por diminuir os efeitos patológicos do HIV e aumentar a sobrevida de pacientes coinfectados HIV/HPgV, através da diminuição da ativação do sistema imune. Devido a essa característica, diversos estudos tentaram associar a presença de viremia a doenças hematológicas e um deles mostrou que a viremia de HPgV parece estar associada com o desenvolvimento de linfoma não- Hodgkin, porém muitas variáveis de confusão parecem influenciar esse resultado. Em conjunto, os dados mostram que o HPgV pode ter influência sobre a maturação e liberação de células progenitoras da medula óssea e, portanto, tornou-se primordial avaliar o impacto da viremia em pacientes com doenças hematológicas e definir o tropismo viral. Para tanto, o presente trabalho analisou a dinâmica de exposição à viremia de HPgV em pacientes submetidos ao transplante de células-tronco hematopoiéticas (HSCT), em cadáveres autopsiados pelo Sistema de Verificação de Óbitos da Capital de São Paulo (SVOC-SP) e em pacientes submetidos à cirurgia de artroplastia pelo Instituto de Ortopedia e Traumatologia (IOT) do HCSP. A carga viral de HPgV foi mensurada por qRT-PCR em Tempo Real levando em consideração valores adquiridos com um curva padrão desenvolvida para este trabalho. Para os pacientes HSCT, o efeito da presença de viremia antes e após o procedimento foi avaliada quanto aos principais desfechos do transplante: doença enxerto-hospedeiro aguda (aGVHD), recaída da doença hematológica primária e mortalidade. Para amostras SVOC e IOT, células específicas dos tecidos (cérebro, fígado, baço, linfonodo, medula óssea e sangue) foram avaliadas quanto à quantidade de RNA viral de polaridade positiva e negativa, a fim de quantificar a replicação e definir o tropismo do vírus. Os resultados mostraram que a prevalência de HPgV encontrada nos pacientes HSCT foi maior do que em estudos similares: 42% para as amostra pré- HSCT e 31% para as amostras pós-HSCT; porém, para as amostras SVOC, a prevalência foi menor do que o esperado: 1,2%. A presença de alta carga viral de HPgV em pacientes HSCT foi associada com aumento da taxa de incidência de aGVHD (95% CI 1,05-5,37, p=0,038). Dada a alta prevalência de HPgV na população brasileira, é essencial confirmar esse achado em outras coortes, de modo a determinar se o monitoramento do HPgV pode beneficiar o cuidado a esses pacientes. Nas amostras SVOC e IOT, a medula óssea apresentou maior número de populações celulares com replicação viral, com destaque para as células B progenitoras e para as células dendríticas. Porém, devido às condições da coleta e do processamento das amostras, o tipo celular permissível à infecção não pôde ser identificado com clareza, portanto fazendo-se necessária a coleta de um número maior de amostras SVOC / HPgV (Human Pegivirus), previously known as GBV-C, causes asymptomatic, persistent and high viral load infection. To date, it is the most prevalent RNA virus without associated pathologies in the world, yet in vitro studies have not yet been able to mimic the in vivo replication, consequently many aspects of its biology remaining unclear. Studies in non-humam primatas have shown that the organs responsible for the greatest viral replication are spleen and bone marrow, however the specific cells permissible for infection have not yet been determined. In the 1990s, HPgV gained notoriety by decreasing the pathological effects of HIV and increasing the survival of coinfected HIV/HPgV patients, by decreasing the activation of the immune system. Because of this characteristic, several studies have attempted to associate the presence of viremia with haematological diseases, and one has shown that HPgV appears to be associated with the development of non-Hodgkin\'s lymphoma, but many confounding variables still seems to influence this outcome. Together, the data show that HPgV may influence the maturation and release of bone marrow progenitor cells and therefore it has become crucial to evaluate the impact of HPgV viremia in patients with haematological diseases and to define viral tropism. Therefore, the present study analyzed the dynamics of HPgV viremia exposure in patients submitted to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), in cadavers autopsied by the São Paulo City Death Verification System (SVOC-SP) and in patients submitted to arthroplasty surgery by the Orthopedics and Traumatology Institute (IOT) of the Clinics Hospital of Sao Paulo. The HPgV was identified by real-time qRT-PCR and the viral load quantification was estimated by a standard curve developed for this work. For HSCT patients, the effect of viremia before and after the procedure was evaluated for the main transplant outcomes: acute graft vs host disease (aGVHD), relapse of primary haematological disease and mortality. For SVOC and IOT samples, tissue-specific cells (brain, liver, spleen, lymph node, bone marrow and blood) were evaluated for the amount of viral positive and negative RNA strains, in order to quantify replication and define virus tropism. The results showed that the prevalence of HPgV found in HSCT patients was higher than in similar studies: 42% for pre-HSCT samples and 31% for post-HSCT samples; however, for SVOC samples, the prevalence was lower than expected: 1.2%. The presence of high viral load of HPgV in HSCT patients was associated with an increase in the incidence rate of aGVHD (95% CI 1.05-5.37, p = 0.038). Given the high prevalence of HPgV in the Brazilian population, it is essential to confirm this finding in other cohorts, in order to determine if HPgV monitoring can improve the care of these patients. In the SVOC and IOT samples, the bone marrow presented a higher number of cell populations with viral replication, especially the progenitor B cells and the dendritic cells. However, due to the conditions of specimen collection and processing, the major permissible cell could not be clearly identified, thus making it necessary to collect a larger number of SVOC samples

Around thirty years ago HIV-1 was identified, and from that point the known epidemic has grown to over 30 million infected individuals. Early on in the course of HIV-1 research, viruses were classified as either syncytia inducing, CXCR4-using, T-cell tropic or non-syncytia inducing, CCR5-using, macrophage tropic. Since that time, several groups have shown that this is an oversimplification. There is a great deal of diversity amongst CCR5-using HIV-1 variants. There remains a great deal to be discovered regarding HIV-1 CCR5-tropism and how this affects other aspects of HIV-1 infection. The CD4 binding site (CD4bs) on the HIV-1 envelope plays a major role in determining the capacity of R5 viruses to infect primary macrophages. Thus, envelope determinants within or proximal to the CD4bs have been shown to control the use of low CD4 levels on macrophages for infection. These residues affect the affinity for CD4 either directly or indirectly by altering the exposure of CD4 contact residues. In this thesis, a single amino acid determinant is described in the V1 loop that also modulates macrophage tropism. I identified an E153G substitution that conferred high levels of macrophage infectivity for several heterologous R5 envelopes, while the reciprocal G153E substitution abrogated infection. Shifts in macrophage tropism were associated with dramatic shifts in sensitivity to the V3 loop monoclonal antibody (MAb), 447-52D and soluble CD4, as well as more modest changes in sensitivity to the CD4bs MAb, b12. These observations are consistent with an altered conformation or exposure of the V3 loop that enables the envelope to use low CD4 levels for infection. The modest shifts in b12 sensitivity suggest that residue 153 impacts on the exposure of the CD4bs. However, the more intense shifts in sCD4 sensitivity suggest additional mechanisms that likely include an increased ability of the envelope to undergo conformational changes following binding to suboptimal levels of cell surface CD4. In summary, a conserved determinant in the V1 loop modulates the V3 loop to prime low CD4 use and macrophage infection. In addition to determinants, this thesis seeks to evaluate the roles of macrophage tropic and non-macrophage tropic envelopes during the course of infection. Non-macrophage tropic virus predominates in immune tissue throughout infection, even in individuals suffering from HIV-associated dementia (HAD) who are known to carry many macrophage tropic viruses. There must be some advantage for these non-macrophage tropic viruses allowing them to persist in immune tissue throughout the disease. This thesis demonstrates that there is no advantage for these viruses to directly infect CD4+ T-cells, nor is there an advantage for them to be preferentially transmitted by dendritic cells to CD4+ T-cells. Given that transmitted/founder (T/F) viruses may preferentially interact with α4β7, and T/F viruses are non-macrophage tropic, I tested whether non-mac viruses could utilize α4β7 to their advantage. These experiments show that macrophage tropism does not play a role in gp120 interactions with α4β7. I evaluated whether there was a distinct disadvantage to macrophage tropic Envs, given their ability to infect dendritic cells and possibly stimulate the innate immune response. Using infected monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDCs), it was shown that mac-tropic Envs do not generate a significant immune response. These experiments demonstrate that there does not appear to be any advantage to non-macrophage tropic Envs, and that macrophage tropic Envs are able to infect CD4+ T-cells more efficiently, as well as DCs.