title: Conserved T cell and natural killer cell function in treatment-experienced adults receiving tenofovir plus didanosine as nucleoside reverse transcription inhibitor backbone.
abstract: Anti-retroviral treatment (ART) usually results in efficient control of virus replication and in immune reconstitution. Among potential adverse effects, impairment of immune responses in terms of CD4(+) T cell counts has been attributed to some ART regimens, as with didanosine-tenofovir. We studied the functional integrity of adaptive and innate immunity during didanosine-tenofovir-containing ART. Two groups of extensively pretreated patients completing at least 48 weeks of ART containing either lamivudine-didanosine (n = 21) or tenofovir-didanosine (n = 25) were identified. In addition to standard clinical immune and virological parameters, we performed a flow cytometric analysis of natural killer (NK) cells, of memory and naive CD4(+) T cells and of T cell receptor alphabeta(+) T cells co-expressing inhibitory NK receptors. Functional analysis consisted in specific and total interferon-gamma production by NK cells and of recall antigen proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Comparable clinical immunological reconstitution and virological control were confirmed in the two groups of patients in the absence of clinically relevant adverse effects. The proportion of CD4(+)CD45RA(+) T cells and of functionally inhibited killer immunoglobulin-like receptor T cell receptor alphabeta(+) cells, the proliferation to recall antigens as well as NK cell phenotype and function as determined by interferon-gamma production in patients treated with tenofovir-didanosine were comparable to those treated with a different regimen. Thus, no differences in functional innate or adaptive immune reconstitution are detected in drug-experienced human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients on tenofovir-didanosine nucleoside reverse transcription inhibitor regimens.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Universita' di Genova, Genova, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bozzano
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fenoglio
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beltrame
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cenderello
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Biagio
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferrea
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pagano
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Maria
mesh_terms: D000225:Adenine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000328:Adult; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D016049:Didanosine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000276:immunology; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology; D019259:Lamivudine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D063065:Organophosphonates / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D000068698:Tenofovir
chemical_list: D063065:Organophosphonates; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors; D019259:Lamivudine; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D000068698:Tenofovir; D000225:Adenine; D016049:Didanosine