Heightened T-cell proliferation without an elevation of CD4+ T cell spontaneous apoptosis in AIDS patients.
T lymphocyte turnover has been studied extensively in HIV infection. The dynamic characteristics of various subsets of T cells in antiretroviral-naive, HIV-1-infected individuals, however, have not been well defined. Here, we performed a cross-sectional study using peripheral blood T cells from 39 antiretroviral-naive, chronically HIV-infected patients, as well as 16 healthy, HIV-negative controls. T-cell subset turnover rates were measured by Ki-67 antigen staining; levels of spontaneous apoptosis and activation in T-cell subsets were also determined by flow cytometry. Surprisingly, with disease progression, the level of T-cell spontaneous apoptosis did not increase significantly, despite a heightened rate of T-cell subset turnover and increased expression of the CD38 activation marker. These data refute the idea that increased T cell turnover is merely a homeostatic process in response to CD4 T cell loss during HIV disease progression, and suggest that future mechanistic studies may be needed for a comprehensive understanding of T-cell dynamics during HIV infection. Such understanding may help to develop new strategies for the immune modulation of clinical disease.
Li
Haiying
H
Department of Infectious Diseases, Beijing You'an Hospital, Capital Medical University, China.
Huang
Xiaojie
X
Guo
Caiping
C
Wang
Wen
W
Li
Zaicun
Z
Zhang
Tong
T
Peng
Qiaoli
Q
Chen
Xinyue
X
Wu
Hao
H
D051997:ADP-ribosyl Cyclase 1 / Q000276:immunology; D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000276:immunology*; D000328:Adult; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000276:immunology*; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000276:immunology; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology
D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D012367:RNA, Viral; D051997:ADP-ribosyl Cyclase 1