title: Effect of HIV vertical transmission on the ontogeny of T cell antigens involved in the regulation of humoral immune response.
abstract: HIV infection causes progressive impairment of humoral immunity, including defective specific antibody production. To evaluate whether vertical HIV infection interferes with the expression on CD4+ lymphocytes of developmentally regulated molecules, that play a crucial role in the generation of immunological memory (CD45 isoforms) and in attainment of antibody responses (CD40L), 22 HIV-infected children and 36 seroreverted children born to HIV+ mothers were studied. The percentage of CD40L+ PBMC after activation in vitro with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) plus ionomycin was lower in HIV-infected children than in controls (P < 0.004). This correlated with the depletion of CD4+ lymphocytes (r = 0.75; P < 0.001). CD40L expression rose progressively with age (r = 0.36; P = 0.03) in seroreverted children, but not in HIV-infected children, suggesting that while in normal children in vivo antigen stimulation results in progressive attainment of CD40L expression (and thus to effective T-B cell cooperation), this process is largely defective in HIV-infected children, contributing to the genesis of humoral immune deficiency. The proportion of CD4+ cells bearing the CD45RO isoform was increased among HIV-infected infants during the first years of life. However, the percentage of CD4+ CD45RO+ peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) progressively increased with age in controls (r = 0.69; P = 0.03), but not in HIV-infected children, showing that while vertical transmission of HIV does not prevent CD45RO expression early in life, it is associated with a disturbance of the physiological process of antigen priming, contributing to poor immunological memory to T cell-dependent antigens.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Immunology Service, Spedali Civili, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brugnoni
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soresina
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Airo
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Ugazio
authors.forename: L D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Notarangelo
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cattaneo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Duse
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D023201:CD40 Ligand; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006678:HIV / Q000276:immunology*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000151:congenital* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D023201:CD40 Ligand; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens