Natural killer cell migration in HIV-infected individuals is inhibited by impairment of HIF-1α-mediated glycolysis

Natural killer (NK) cells serve as the first line of defense of the immune system and play a crucial role in fighting against HIV infection. The effective function of NK cells is closely related to their migration ability, but the status of NK cell migration in HIV-infected individuals and the regulation mechanism for NK cell migration remains unknown. Here, we found that NK cell migration was significantly impaired in HIV-infected individuals, lower in immune non-responders (INRs) compared with immune responders (IRs), and positively correlated with CD4 ⁺ T cell counts. Further investigations showed that the decreased NK cell migration in HIV infection was caused by the impairment of glycolysis. Mechanistically, we found that NK cell migration was regulated by HIF-1α pathway, and inhibitory receptor TIGIT restrained HIF-1α expression by inhibiting PI3K/AKT/mTORC1 or ERK signaling pathway, consequently weakening the glycolysis of NK cells in HIV-infected individuals, and ultimately leading to down-regulation of migration. Collectively, we uncovered a mechanism of reduced NK cell migration in HIV infection and provided a new insight for immunotherapy in HIV infection.