title: Serial CD4 and CD8 T-lymphocyte counts and associated mortality in an HIV-2-infected population in Guinea-Bissau.
abstract: In an urban community in Guinea-Bissau, we followed a cohort of human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) seropositive individuals (N = 47) and seronegative controls (N = 82). T-lymphocyte subset determinations were done in 1988, 1990, and 1992. Serial determinations of CD4 percentages, CD8 percentages, and CD4/CD8 ratios for the same individual were stable for 31 seropositive and 51 seronegative individuals with repeated measurements. We found no significant differences in the changes during a 2- or 4-year period in CD4 percentages, CD8 percentages, absolute CD8 T-lymphocyte counts, CD4/CD8 ratio, white blood cell counts, lymphocyte percentages, and absolute lymphocyte counts for HIV-2-seropositive compared with HIV-2-seronegative individuals. Only absolute CD4 T-lymphocyte counts changed more for the HIV-2-seropositive than for HIV-2-seronegative individuals (p = 0.037). HIV-2-infected individuals who lived with an HIV-2-infected spouse had a lower CD4/CD8 ratio and had higher mortality than HIV-2 infected individuals who lived with an uninfected spouse. However, there were no significant differences in immunological and hematological values for the 8 HIV-2 seropositive individuals who died and the 39 who survived in the 8-year follow-up period. In conclusion, progression of immunosuppression in HIV-2 infection seems to be slower than in HIV-1 infection and may not be inevitable in all individuals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Hvidovre Hospital, Denmark.
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Lisse
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Poulsen
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aaby
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Knudsen
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dias
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006169:Guinea-Bissau / Q000453:epidemiology; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality*; D015498:HIV-2 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014505:Urban Population