Association between HIV Type 1-specific T cell responses and CD4+ T cell counts or CD4+:CD8+ T cell ratios in HIV Type 1 subtype B infection in China.
CD4+ T cell counts and CD4+:CD8+ T cell ratios represent key determinants of HIV disease progression and infectivity. However, the relationship between the HIV-1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response and these determinants has not been elucidated for all HIV-1B and HIV-1C proteins. In the present study, virusspecific T cell responses to HIV-1B and HIV-1C proteins were analyzed with interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) enzyme- linked immunospot (ELISpot) assays using synthetic overlapping peptides corresponding to naturally occurring HIV-1B and HIV-1C consensus sequences. For Gag/Gag p24/Gag p17, a correlation between T cell responses and CD4+ T cell count in HIV-1 clade B and clade C was seen: elevated T cell response resulted in higher CD4+ T cell production. A statistically significant correlation between the Pol-specific T cell response and CD4+ T cell counts was also found in HIV-1 subtype C. For all HIV-1B and HIV-1C proteins, a correlation between the HIV-1-specific T cell response and CD4+:CD8+ T cell ratios was found for Tat and Pol proteins. CD4+ T cell counts in patients with Tat and/or Rev T cell response were higher than in patients without Tat and/or Rev T cell response. We suggest that this correlation within HIV-1B and HIV-1C Gag p24/Gag p17 responses makes the Gag p24/Gag p17 region a potential vaccine candidate and that HIV-1-specific CTL epitopes toward Pol are important in controlling HIV-1 infection; we emphasize that future vaccination strategies should include these early antigens, Tat and Rev.
Wang
Shaoyang
S
Department of Infectious Diseases, Tangdu Hospital Affiliated to the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710038, Peoples Republic of China.
Zhuang
Yan
Y
Zhai
Song
S
Zhao
Shuguang
S
Kang
Whenzhen
W
Li
Xinhong
X
Yu
Xu G
XG
Walker
Bruce D
BD
Altfeld
Marcus A
MA
Sun
Yongtao
Y
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D015683:Gene Products, gag / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D015488:HIV Antigens / Q000378:metabolism; D016655:HIV Core Protein p24 / Q000378:metabolism; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013045:Species Specificity; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology; D019562:Viral Load; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D054301:gag Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
D015683:Gene Products, gag; D015488:HIV Antigens; D016655:HIV Core Protein p24; D014764:Viral Proteins; D054301:gag Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; C054858:p17 protein, Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1