B cells in early and chronic HIV infection: evidence for preservation of immune function associated with early initiation of antiretroviral therapy.
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.
Moir
Susan
S
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. smoir@niaid.nih.gov
Buckner
Clarisa M
CM
Ho
Jason
J
Wang
Wei
W
Chen
Jenny
J
Waldner
Amy J
AJ
Posada
Jacqueline G
JG
Kardava
Lela
L
O'Shea
Marie A
MA
Kottilil
Shyam
S
Chun
Tae-Wook
TW
Proschan
Michael A
MA
Fauci
Anthony S
AS
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