Open AccessSelective increase of activation antigens HLA‐DR and CD38 on CD45RO+ T lymphocytes during HIV‐1 infection
Author(s) -
KESTENS L.,
VANHAM G.,
VEREECKEN C.,
VANDENBRUAENE M.,
VERCAUTEREN G.,
COLEBUNDERS R. L.,
GIGASE P. L.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
clinical & experimental immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.329
H-Index - 135
eISSN - 1365-2249
pISSN - 0009-9104
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2249.1994.tb07015.x
Subject(s) - cd38 , cd8 , immunophenotyping , immunology , hla dr , asymptomatic , t lymphocyte , antigen , t cell , biology , immune system , medicine , stem cell , genetics , cd34
SUMMARY Infection with HIV results in a progressive depletion of CD4* T cells and leads to significant in vivo lymphocyte phenotype changes. In this regard, the expression of HLA‐DR and CD38 on CD8* T cells has been shown to increase dramatically with disease progression. We investigated the expression of both aetivation markers on CD4* T cells in HIV‐1‐infected subjeets at different clinical stages of infection and compared the in vivo activation of CD4* T cells with parameters of viral activity and CD8* T cell activation. Eresh peripheral venous blood was obtained from 54 HIVinfeeted subjects and from 28 uninfected healthy controls. Three‐colour immunophenotyping of the CD4’T Cell subset showed that the proportion of CD4* T cells expressing HLA‐DR (10% in HIV negative controls) or CD38 (62%. in HIV‐negative controls) was higher in asymptomatic (P < 0.05 for CD38) and symptomatic (P< 0.001 for HLA‐DR and CD38) HIV‐infected subjects than in controls, whereas the proportion of CD4* T cells expressing CD45RO (54% in controls) remained relatively unchanged. Simultaneous expression of HLA‐DR and CD38 on CD4 * T cells increased from 2‐3% in controls to 11% (P<0.001) in asymptomatic and 22% (P < 0.001) in symptomatic HIV‐infected subjects. This relative increase of CD38 and HLA‐DR expression occurred mainly on CD4* T cells co‐expressing CD45RO. Changes in expression of HLA‐DR and CD38 on CD4 * T cells correlated with similar changes on CD8 * T lymphocytes, with the presence of HIV antigen in the circulation, and with the disease stage of HIV infection.