Association of Gag-specific T lymphocyte responses during the early phase of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection and lower virus load set point.
T lymphocyte responses to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 Gag were measured in 9 patients by interferon-gamma enzyme-linked immunospot assay at 3 time points within 12 months of infection. Patients with early recognition of HIV-1 Gag had lower subsequent HIV-1 load set points, as measured during the first 2 years of infection, compared with those of patients with undetectable Gag-specific responses (median, 4.27 vs. 5.05 log(10) HIV-1 RNA copies/mL, respectively; P=.028). An inverse correlation existed between the magnitude of the Gag-specific responses and the HIV-1 load set point (r=-0.733; P=.025). Early sustained T lymphocyte responses to HIV-1 Gag may be important for the establishment of virus load set point.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D018450:Disease Progression; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D015683:Gene Products, gag / Q000276:immunology*; D015488:HIV Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D019562:Viral Load
D015683:Gene Products, gag; D015488:HIV Antigens