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CD8+ T-Cell Subpopulations in HIV-Infected Children: Active Infection vs. Nonprogression of Infection vs. Suppressed Infection on HAART Therapy M. PAUL*, W. SHEARER, C. KOZINETZ, S. CRON, H. ROSENBLATT, and D. LEWIS. Baylor Coll. of Med., Houston, TX To examine CD8+T cell function and phenotype in perinatally HIV-infected children, we followed 31 children for an average of 36 months (21-48 months). Ages ranged from 3-17 years (mean 8 years) at the end of the evaluation period. We categorized patients as nonprogressors (n=5) if they were at least 7 years of age at the end of the analysis, had never been on HAART and maintained a mean RNA <10,000 and a mean CD4 of >500/mm3. Individuals who began HAART therapy, achieved an undetectible viral load and then maintained low levels of viral RNA (<3,000) were classified as suppressed (n=11). Children with active infection (n=15) had a mean RNA >10,000 or a mean CD4 count <500/mm3(excluding suppressed). Analysis of CD8+ T cell phenotypes post HAART therapy in the suppressed group showed a greater percentage of CD8 +T cells expressing CD28 than found in the active infection group (46.7 vs 28.7) (p<0.05). Most of these CD28+ cells were CD62L+ indicating retention of the lymph node homing receptor and a less mature status. By contrast, the actively-infected group had more CD28-CD62-CD8+T cells than the suppressed group (p<0.05). Because CD28-CD62-L cells have been shown to contain HIV-specific effector CTL, these data suggest that viral suppression reduces the numbers of these circulating cells so that virally suppressed patients more resemble nonprogressors in terms of CD8+ T cell phenotype. Key Words: CD8+ T cell, Children, Progression |
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© 7th
Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, |