title: B cells in early and chronic HIV infection: evidence for preservation of immune function associated with early initiation of antiretroviral therapy.
abstract: Characterization of lymphocytes including B cells during early versus chronic HIV infection is important for understanding the impact of chronic viremia on immune cell function. In this setting, we investigated B cells before and after reduction of HIV plasma viremia by antiretroviral therapy (ART). At baseline, peripheral blood B-cell counts were significantly lower in both early and chronic HIV-infected individuals compared with uninfected controls. Similar to CD4(+) but not CD8(+) T cells, B-cell numbers in both groups increased significantly after ART. At baseline, B cells of early HIV-infected individuals were composed of a higher percentage of plasmablasts and resting memory B cells compared with chronic HIV-infected individuals whose B cells were composed of a higher percentage of immature/transitional and exhausted B cells compared with their early infection counterparts. At 1 year after ART, the percentage of resting memory B cells remained higher in early compared with chronic HIV-infected individuals. This difference translated into a better functional profile in that memory B-cell responses to HIV and non-HIV antigens were superior in early- compared with chronic-treated HIV infected individuals. These findings provide new insights on B cells in HIV infection and how early initiation of ART may prevent irreversible immune system damage.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. smoir@niaid.nih.gov
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moir
authors.forename: Clarisa M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Buckner
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Amy J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Waldner
authors.forename: Jacqueline G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Posada
authors.forename: Lela
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kardava
authors.forename: Marie A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: O'Shea
authors.forename: Shyam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kottilil
authors.forename: Tae-Wook
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Chun
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Proschan
authors.forename: Anthony S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Fauci
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019562:Viral Load; D014766:Viremia / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D055815:Young Adult