title: Longitudinal analysis of lymphocyte ratios and HIV-1 intracellular DNA levels in children.
abstract: The associations between human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) intracellular DNA and immunological markers were analyzed longitudinally for children with sustained, undetectable RNA levels while receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for >2 years. When DNA levels reached a plateau at week 104 of therapy, in contrast to findings for adults, there was no correlation between the CD4(+) : CD8(+) ratio and DNA levels (r=-0.02; P=.95), and naive CD4(+)CD45RA(+) lymphocytes predominated. These data suggest that the increased proportion of naive lymphocytes found in children are less susceptible to HIV-1 infection than are the memory lymphocytes that dominate immune reconstitution in adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0672, USA.
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saitoh
authors.forename: Christine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.forename: Terence
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fenton
authors.forename: Steven D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Douglas
authors.forename: Stuart E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Starr
authors.forename: Courtney V
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.forename: Stephen A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Spector
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral