Prospective study of CD8+ lymphocyte activation in relation to viral load in HIV-infected patients with > or = 400 CD4+ lymphocytes per microliter.
To investigate the temporal relationship between CD8+ lymphocyte phenotypic alterations, the CD4+ T cell decline, and plasma HIV RNA levels during the natural history of HIV infection, 33 treatment-naive HIV-infected patients with > or =400 CD4+ cells/microl were studied prospectively for 3 years. During the study period, 20 patients remained untreated, and only 6 received more than 6 months of therapy. A significant relationship was found between changes in plasma HIV RNA and changes in the proportion of CD38+CD8+ cells. Conversely, the number of CD4+ T cells lost per year was strongly related to the increase in the proportion of CD28-CD8+ T cells. A strong relationship between mean yearly changes in CD4+ T cell numbers and changes in HIV RNA was also observed. CD4+ T cell changes were associated with changes in both viral load and CD8+ T cell activation. These results provide support for the use of both virologic and immunologic parameters for prognosis and management during HIV infection.
Bouscarat
F
F
Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale Unité 13, Hôpital Bichat-Claude Bernard, Paris, France.
Levacher
M
M
Dazza
M C
MC
Chau
F
F
Desforges
B
B
Muffat-Joly
M
M
Matheron
S
S
Girard
P M
PM
Sinet
M
M
D000328:Adult; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets; D019562:Viral Load