Impaired response of HIV type 1-specific CD8(+) cells from antiretroviral-treated patients.
Impairment of the response of HIV-specific CD8(+) T cells, in spite of the high frequency of occurrence of these cells even in the advanced phase of HIV-1 infection, has been demonstrated. It is also known that new antiretroviral treatments are able to reduce the viral load and partially repair the immunological damage caused by HIV-1, but it is not clear whether the extent of these changes affects the functional profile of HIV-specific CD8(+) T cells. We evaluated, in HIV-1(+) patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy, the HIV-specific CD8(+) subset distribution and their functional capacity as intracellular expression of IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, and perforin after PMA stimulation. Our results indicate that HIV-1(+)-treated individuals show distributions of HIV-specific CD8 subsets similar to nontreated patients, while the frequency of HIV-specific CD8 cells expressing IFN-gamma and perforin after stimulation is lower in HAART-treated patients. This indicates that HAART, which controls viral replication, may impair the HIV-specific CD8(+) response.
Lozano
J M
JM
Service of Immunology, University of Córdoba, 14004 Córdoba, Spain.
De la Rosa
O
O
García-Jurado
G
G
Luque
J
J
Solana
R
R
Kindelán
J M
JM
Rivero
A
A
Peña
J
J
D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D054353:Perforin / Q000378:metabolism; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism
D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D054353:Perforin; D007371:Interferon-gamma