title: Naïve T cells are maintained in the periphery during the first 3 months of acute HIV-1 infection: implications for analysis of thymus function.
abstract: A key determinant of T cell dynamics in HIV-1 infection is the status of thymic function. To date, most studies of the impact of HIV-1 on the thymus during early HIV-1 infection have been done in samples collected in the interval of 3-12 months after infection. In this study, we have probed the status of thymic function and peripheral naive T cells in patients with acute HIV-1 infection diagnosed 18-72 days after the onset of symptoms. We found that peripheral CD4 and CD8 T cell proliferation was initially elevated, then waned over time. The fall in T cell proliferation correlated with a reduction in HIV-1 viral RNA levels and a rise in peripheral blood CD4+ CD25+ T cells. In spite of elevated T cell proliferation early on in primary HIV-1 infection, levels of naive phenotype CD4 and CD8 T cells and T cell receptor excision circle positive cells (sjTREC(+)) remained constant. Taken together with the observation that T cell proliferation normally dilutes peripheral T cell episomal sjTREC levels, these data suggested that thymopoiesis contributes to maintenance of the naive T cell pool during the earliest stages of HIV-1 infection (18-72 days).
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA. gsem@duke.edu
authors.forename: Gregory D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Sempowski
authors.forename: Charles B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Hicks
authors.forename: Joseph J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Eron
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Bartlett
authors.forename: Laura P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Hale
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.forename: Lloyd J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fiscus
authors.forename: Barton F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Haynes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D008297:Male; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2 / Q000032:analysis; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D013997:Time Factors; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2