title: Antiretroviral naive and treated patients: Discrepancies of B cell subsets during the natural course of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate alterations of memory B cell subpopulations during a 48-wk period in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-one antiretroviral naïve and 41 treated HIV-1 patients matched for age and duration of HIV infection were recruited. All clinical, epidemiological and laboratory data were recorded or measured. The different B cell subsets were characterized according to their surface markers: Total B cells (CD19+), memory B cells (CD19+CD27+, BMCs), resting BMCs (CD19+CD27+CD21high, RM), exhausted BMCs (CD19+CD21lowCD27-, EM), IgM memory B (CD19+CD27+IgMhigh), isotype-switched BMCs (CD19+CD27+IgM-, ITS) and activated BMCs (CD19+CD21low+CD27+, AM) at baseline on week 4 and week 48.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean counts of BMCs were higher in treated patients. There was a marginal upward trend of IgM memory B cell proportions which differed significantly in the treated group (overall trend,P= 0.004). ITS BMC increased over time significantly in all patients. Naive patients had of lower levels of EM B cells compared to treated, with a downward trend, irrespectively of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) intake. Severe impairment of EM B cells was recorded to both treated (P= 0.024) and naive (P= 0.023) and patients. Higher proportions of RM cells were noted in HAART group, which differed significantly on week 4th(P= 0.017) and 48th(P= 0.03). Higher levels of AM were preserved in HAART naive group during the whole study period (week 4:P= 0.018 and 48:P= 0.035). HIV-RNA viremia strongly correlated with AM B cells (r = 0.54,P= 0.01) and moderately with RM cells (r = -0.45,P= 0.026) at baseline.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HIV disrupts memory B cell subpopulations leading to impaired immunologic memory over time. BMC, RM, EM and ITS BMC were higher in patients under HAART. Activated BMCs (AM) were higher in patients without HAART. Viremia correlated with AM and RM. Significant depletion was recorded in EM B cells irrespectively of HAART intake. Perturbations in BMC-populations are not fully restored by antiretrovirals.
authors.affiliation: Olga Tsachouridou, Lemonia Skoura, Pantelis Zebekakis, Adamantini Georgiou, Dimitrios Pilalas, Antonios Galanos, Michael Daniilidis, Symeon Metallidis, 1 Internal Medicine Department, Infectious Diseases Division, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Tsachouridou
authors.affiliation: Olga Tsachouridou, Lemonia Skoura, Pantelis Zebekakis, Adamantini Georgiou, Dimitrios Pilalas, Antonios Galanos, Michael Daniilidis, Symeon Metallidis, 1 Internal Medicine Department, Infectious Diseases Division, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Lemonia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Skoura
authors.affiliation: Olga Tsachouridou, Lemonia Skoura, Pantelis Zebekakis, Adamantini Georgiou, Dimitrios Pilalas, Antonios Galanos, Michael Daniilidis, Symeon Metallidis, 1 Internal Medicine Department, Infectious Diseases Division, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Pantelis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zebekakis
authors.affiliation: Olga Tsachouridou, Lemonia Skoura, Pantelis Zebekakis, Adamantini Georgiou, Dimitrios Pilalas, Antonios Galanos, Michael Daniilidis, Symeon Metallidis, 1 Internal Medicine Department, Infectious Diseases Division, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Apostolia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Margariti
authors.affiliation: Olga Tsachouridou, Lemonia Skoura, Pantelis Zebekakis, Adamantini Georgiou, Dimitrios Pilalas, Antonios Galanos, Michael Daniilidis, Symeon Metallidis, 1 Internal Medicine Department, Infectious Diseases Division, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Adamantini
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Georgiou
authors.affiliation: Olga Tsachouridou, Lemonia Skoura, Pantelis Zebekakis, Adamantini Georgiou, Dimitrios Pilalas, Antonios Galanos, Michael Daniilidis, Symeon Metallidis, 1 Internal Medicine Department, Infectious Diseases Division, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bougiouklis
authors.affiliation: Olga Tsachouridou, Lemonia Skoura, Pantelis Zebekakis, Adamantini Georgiou, Dimitrios Pilalas, Antonios Galanos, Michael Daniilidis, Symeon Metallidis, 1 Internal Medicine Department, Infectious Diseases Division, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pilalas
authors.affiliation: Olga Tsachouridou, Lemonia Skoura, Pantelis Zebekakis, Adamantini Georgiou, Dimitrios Pilalas, Antonios Galanos, Michael Daniilidis, Symeon Metallidis, 1 Internal Medicine Department, Infectious Diseases Division, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Antonios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galanos
authors.affiliation: Olga Tsachouridou, Lemonia Skoura, Pantelis Zebekakis, Adamantini Georgiou, Dimitrios Pilalas, Antonios Galanos, Michael Daniilidis, Symeon Metallidis, 1 Internal Medicine Department, Infectious Diseases Division, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Daniilidis
authors.affiliation: Olga Tsachouridou, Lemonia Skoura, Pantelis Zebekakis, Adamantini Georgiou, Dimitrios Pilalas, Antonios Galanos, Michael Daniilidis, Symeon Metallidis, 1 Internal Medicine Department, Infectious Diseases Division, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Symeon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Metallidis
keywords: B cell subpopulations; Highly active antiretroviral therapy; Human immunodeficiency virus infection; Memory cells; Time-trend