title: Quantitation of HIV-1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes and plasma load of viral RNA.
abstract: Although cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are thought to be involved in the control of human immunodeficiency virus-type 1 (HIV-1) infection, it has not been possible to demonstrate a direct relation between CTL activity and plasma RNA viral load. Human leukocyte antigen-peptide tetrameric complexes offer a specific means to directly quantitate circulating CTLs ex vivo. With the use of the tetrameric complexes, a significant inverse correlation was observed between HIV-specific CTL frequency and plasma RNA viral load. In contrast, no significant association was detected between the clearance rate of productively infected cells and frequency of HIV-specific CTLs. These data are consistent with a significant role for HIV-specific CTLs in the control of HIV infection and suggest a considerable cytopathic effect of the virus in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Medicine, Nuffield Department of Medicine, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK.
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Ogg
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bonhoeffer
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Dunbar
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Nowak
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Monard
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Segal
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Rowland-Jones
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cerundolo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hurley
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Markowitz
authors.forename: D D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Nixon
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: McMichael
mesh_terms: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D004396:Coloring Agents; D003588:Cytopathogenic Effect, Viral; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D015683:Gene Products, gag; D015684:Gene Products, pol; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D015234:HLA-A Antigens; D006801:Humans; D018655:Lymphocyte Count / Q000379:methods*; D009842:Oligopeptides; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*; D019562:Viral Load; D014766:Viremia
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D004396:Coloring Agents; D015683:Gene Products, gag; D015684:Gene Products, pol; D015234:HLA-A Antigens; D009842:Oligopeptides; D012367:RNA, Viral