title: Emergence of exhausted B cells in asymptomatic HIV-1-infected patients naïve for HAART is related to reduced immune surveillance.
abstract: Alterations of B cell subpopulations have been described up to date as characterizing advanced stage of HIV-1 infection. However, whether such defects are relevant in subjects with a preserved number of CD4⁺ T cells (>350 cells/μL) is unclear. In a cross-sectional study, we investigated if signs of B cells exhaustion and impaired viral immune surveillance are present in a cohort of 43 asymptomatic HIV-1-infected patients with preserved CD4⁺ T cell counts (>350 cells/μL) and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) untreated. A dramatic expansion of exhausted tissue-like memory B cells (CD10⁻CD21(low)CD27⁻) was observed. B cells alteration was related to an increase in Torque teno virus (TTV) load, used as surrogate marker of immune function. Successfully HAART-treated patients showed normalization of B cell subpopulations frequency and TTV load. These results provide new insights on B cell in HIV-1 infection and show that development of B cell abnormalities precedes CD4⁺ T cell decline.
authors.affiliation: Section of Microbiology, Department of Experimental and Applied Medicine, University of Brescia, Spedali Civili Square, 25123 Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fogli
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Torti
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Malacarne
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fiorentini
authors.forename: Melania
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Albani
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Izzo
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giagulli
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Maggi
authors.forename: Giampiero
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Carosi
authors.forename: Arnaldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caruso
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D058070:Asymptomatic Diseases; D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D060085:Coinfection; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004266:DNA Virus Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007157:Immunologic Surveillance; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D022783:Torque teno virus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D019562:Viral Load / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents