title: T cell telomere length in HIV-1 infection: no evidence for increased CD4+ T cell turnover.
abstract: Progression to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has been related to exhaustion of the regenerative capacity of the immune system resulting from high T cell turnover. Analysis of telomeric terminal restriction fragment (TRF) length, a marker for cellular replicative history, showed that CD8(+) T cell TRF length decreased but CD4(+) T cell TRF length was stable during the course of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) infection, which was not explained by differential telomerase activity. This observation provides evidence that turnover in the course of HIV-1 infection can be increased considerably in CD8(+) T cells, but not in CD4(+) T cells. These results are compatible with CD4(+) T cell decline in HIV-1 infection caused by interference with cell renewal.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Viro-Immunology, Central Laboratory of the Netherlands Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. clbkvi@xs4all.nl
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Wolthers
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bea
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wisman
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Otto
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: de Roda Husman
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schaft
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de Wolf
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Goudsmit
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Coutinho
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: van der Zee
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Meyaard
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Miedema
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000097:blood*; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016923:Cell Death; D002455:Cell Division; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008297:Male; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D019098:Telomerase / Q000097:blood; D016615:Telomere / Q000648:ultrastructure*
chemical_list: D019098:Telomerase