title: Interleukin 7 reduces the levels of spontaneous apoptosis in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from HIV-1-infected individuals.
abstract: Apoptosis has been suggested as one of the major mechanisms of CD4+ T cell depletion during the course of HIV type 1 (HIV-1) infection. Here, we show that interleukin 7 (IL-7), a nonredundant cytokine that plays essential roles in the generation and homeostasis of the T cell compartment of the immune system, exerts strong antiapoptotic effects ex vivo on both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells derived from HIV-1-infected subjects. The level of IL-7-mediated reduction of apoptosis was inversely correlated with the number of circulating CD4+ T cells, indicating a higher sensitivity to IL-7 effects in patients with more advanced disease. The antiapoptotic effect of IL-7 was uncoupled from the induction of cellular proliferation or endogenous HIV-1 replication. These results provide a further rationale for consideration of IL-7 as an agent of immune reconstitution in HIV-1 infection.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunoregulation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Lia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vassena
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Proschan
authors.forename: Anthony S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Fauci
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lusso
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000473:pathology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D015851:Interleukin-7 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D015851:Interleukin-7