{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,4]],"date-time":"2026-04-04T17:46:08Z","timestamp":1775324768923,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,5]],"date-time":"2021-05-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1620172800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>HIV-1 must overcome host antiviral restriction factors for efficient replication. We hypothesized that elevated levels of bone marrow stromal cell antigen 2 (<jats:italic>BST-2<\/jats:italic>), a potent host restriction factor that interferes with HIV-1 particle release in some human cells and is antagonized by the viral protein Vpu, may associate with viral control. Using cryopreserved samples, from HIV-1 seronegative and seropositive Black women, we measured <jats:italic>in vitro<\/jats:italic> expression levels of <jats:italic>BST-2<\/jats:italic> mRNA using a real-time PCR assay and protein levels were validated by Western blotting. The expression level of <jats:italic>BST-2<\/jats:italic> showed an association with viral control within two independent cohorts of Black HIV infected females (r=-0.53, p=0.015, [n =21]; and r=-0.62, p=0.0006, [n=28]). DNA methylation was identified as a mechanism regulating <jats:italic>BST-2<\/jats:italic> levels, where increased <jats:italic>BST-2<\/jats:italic> methylation results in lower expression levels and associates with worse HIV disease outcome. We further demonstrate the ability to regulate <jats:italic>BST-2<\/jats:italic> levels using a DNA hypomethylation drug. Our results suggest <jats:italic>BST-2<\/jats:italic> as a factor for potential therapeutic intervention against HIV and other diseases known to involve <jats:italic>BST-2<\/jats:italic>.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2021.669241","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,5]],"date-time":"2021-05-05T04:32:52Z","timestamp":1620189172000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Epigenetic Regulation of BST-2 Expression Levels and the Effect on HIV-1 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