Role of CD8+ in late opportunistic infections of patients with AIDS.
We studied the relationship of CD4+ and CD8+ depletion to initial and late opportunistic infections in 62 patients with AIDS. The mean interval between initial and late infections was 12.2 months. Geometric mean (and 95% confidence intervals) of T-cell counts at the diagnosis of each infection were: (Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia) CD4+ 0.051 (0.044-0.058) x 10(9)/l, CD8+ 0.561 (0.476-0.646) x 10(9)/l; (cytomegalovirus retinitis) CD4+ 0.025 (0.019-0.031) x 10(9)/l, CD8+ 0.333 (0.183-0.483) x 10(9)/l. Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare bacteraemia closely followed cytomegalovirus dissemination. Most patients were free from late opportunistic infections caused by disseminated cytomegalovirus and M. avium-intracellulare until CD8+ declined below 0.500 x 10(9)/l. Zidovudine improved CD4+, but less so CD8+, and similarly enhanced the survival of patients treated in 1985-1990 and 1991.
Department of Neurology, UCLA Medical Center 90024-1747.
M
M
Fiala
V
V
Kermani
J
J
Gornbein
D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000401:mortality; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007958:Leukocyte Count / Q000187:drug effects; D015270:Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare Infection / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D011020:Pneumonia, Pneumocystis / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D013997:Time Factors; D015215:Zidovudine / Q000627:therapeutic use
D016827:CD8 Antigens; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D015215:Zidovudine