Microanatomic relationships between CD8+ cells and HIV-1-producing cells in human lymphoid tissue in vivo.
OBJECTIVE
Host immune responses are unable to fully suppress HIV-1 replication in lymphoid tissues. Microanatomic relationships between HIV-1-producing cells and CD8+ cells in lymphoid tissues were analyzed to determine whether there was evidence for an immune privileged site or impaired recognition of virus-producing cells.


METHODS
CD8+ cell phenotypes were determined on disaggregated inguinal lymph node cells by flow cytometry for seven untreated HIV-1-infected subjects. Microanatomic relationships between HIV-1-producing cells and CD8+ cells were analyzed in lymph node sections from 15 HIV-1-infected individuals using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical staining.


RESULTS
Most (median, 96%) lymph node CD8+ cells coexpressed CD3. Frequencies of virus-producing cells detected by in situ hybridization correlated with plasma HIV-1 RNA concentration (Spearman rho = 0.70; p =.02; n = 11). The percentage of lymph node cells adjacent to virus-producing cells that were CD8+ (median, 29%) was not statistically different from the percentage of CD8+ cells in lymphoid tissue overall (median, 34%; p =.09).


CONCLUSIONS
Multiple explanations could account for the observation that CD8+ cells do not preferentially accumulate around virus-producing cells including the possibility that HIV-1-specific CD8+ cells cannot recognize virus-producing cells. Further studies are necessary to determine whether HIV-1-specific CD8+ T cells aggregate around virus-producing cells in lymphoid tissue.
Folkvord
Joy M
JM
Division of Infectious Disease, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, 4200 East Ninth Avenue, Denver, CO 80262, USA.
Anderson
Deborah M
DM
Arya
Jyoti
J
MaWhinney
Samantha
S
Connick
Elizabeth
E
D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D008221:Lymphoid Tissue / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000378:metabolism
D012367:RNA, Viral