The known dual roles of DC-SIGN as a facilitator of adaptive immune response as well as promoter of HIV-1 infection prompted us to examine if innate immune soluble factors such as C1q and gC1qR can potentially modulate viral transmission via DC-SIGN (47), similar to reports involving CD4+ T cells (48) and a lectin drug GRFT (Griffithsia) isolated from the red algae (49). Here, CD4 is linked to HIV-1 infection.