title: Immune activation and CD127 expression on T lymphocyte subsets of a Chinese cohort of pediatric AIDS patients with different viral responses.
abstract: Immune activation and IL-7/IL7 receptor (CD127) systems are significant for CD4+ T cell defect in AIDS patients. However, the association between immune activation and CD127 expression on T lymphocyte subsets in Chinese pediatric AIDS patients is not well studied. Here, we recruited a cohort of 194 Chinese pediatric AIDS patients: 135 good viral responders (GVRs) and 59 poor viral responders (PVRs). CD38high and HLA-DR+CD8+ T lymphocytes and CD127 expression on T-cell subsets were determined by flow cytometry. Viral load was detected using a quantitative RT-PCR assay. The results showed that pediatric AIDS patients had a lower memory CD4+ percentage and a higher memory CD8+ T-cell percentage. The percentage of naive CD4+T-cells was higher, especially in GVRs. The percentage of CD38high and HLA-DR+CD8+ in PVRs was higher than in GVRs and controls, being positively correlated with viral load and memory CD8+, but negatively correlated with memory CD4+ T cells. The percentage of CD127+ memory CD4+ T cells in GVRs was higher than in PVRs, but lower than in controls. CD127 expression was positively correlated with percentage of CD4+ subsets and naive CD8+ T cells, but negatively correlated with percentage of memory CD8+ T cells. Our study demonstrates that the percentages of CD38high and HLA-DR+ CD8+ T cells are good markers to evaluate immune activation of pediatric AIDS patients, and elevated immune activation has a more profound effect on memory T cells. IL- 7/CD127 system is more important to maintain the proportion of naive T cells.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Changzhong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Fujie
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Lijuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Tiansheng
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Yuewu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Zhirong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Nanping
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D000293:Adolescent; D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D053699:Interleukin-7 Receptor alpha Subunit / Q000276:immunology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D019562:Viral Load; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D053699:Interleukin-7 Receptor alpha Subunit