title: Changes in natural immunity during the course of HIV-1 infection.
abstract: The role of natural killer (NK) and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell-mediated cytotoxicity in AIDS has yet to be established. The objective of this study was to determine inducible LAK cell responses at different stages of HIV-1 infection, and specifically to establish the participation of CD8 lymphocytes in these responses. Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) were isolated from healthy seronegative (CDC-0) subjects and HIV-1+ individuals who were clinically asymptomatic (Centre for Disease Control group 2, CDC-2) or symptomatic (CDC-4) with regard to secondary opportunistic infection (OI). LAK cells were generated upon incubation of PBL with IL-2 and their cytolysis of K562 and U-937 targets was determined using chromium release assays. The role of CD8+ lymphocytes as progenitors and effectors of these LAK cell responses was determined by immunomagnetic depletion of CD8+ cells from precursor PBL and LAK cells, respectively. LAK cell-mediated cytotoxicities in HIV-1-infected individuals were reduced compared with seronegative controls without any corresponding changes in the relative proportions of CD56+ (NK) cells among groups. Depletions of CD8+ subsets from either PBL or LAK cells dramatically reduced total LAK cytotoxic responses and LAK activities per unit CD56+ cell in the OI-/CDC-2 seropositive population. No corresponding changes in LAK activities in seronegative control or HIV+/OI+/CDC-4 groups were observed. Levels of LAK activity against K562 targets in CDC-0/HIV- and CDC-4/HIV+ groups correlated with the percentage of CD56+ LAK cells; corresponding LAK activity in the CDC-2/HIV+ group correlated with the percentage of both CD56+ and CD8+ subsets. These findings suggest that adaptive changes in non-MHC restricted cytotoxic responses occur in HIV-1 individuals at early stages post-HIV infection, before the onset of opportunistic infection.
authors.affiliation: McGill AIDS Centre, Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: B G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Brenner
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gryllis
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gornitsky
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Wainberg
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000276:immunology*; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000032:analysis; D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte / Q000032:analysis; D019002:CD56 Antigen; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D015979:Killer Cells, Lymphokine-Activated / Q000276:immunology*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte; D019002:CD56 Antigen; D016827:CD8 Antigens