Immunophenotypic alterations in acute and early HIV infection

• Published in: Clinical immunology (Orlando, Fla.) Fla.), 2007-12, Vol.125 (3), p.299-308
• Main Authors: Al-Harthi, Lena, MaWhinney, Sam, Connick, Elizabeth, Schooley, Robert T, Forster, Jeri E, Benson, Constance, Thompson, Melanie, Judson, Franklyn, Palella, Frank, Landay, Alan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acute Disease; Acute HIV; ADP-ribosyl Cyclase 1 - biosynthesis; Adult; Allergy and Immunology; Anti-Retroviral Agents - administration & dosage; Biological and medical sciences; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - drug effects; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - metabolism; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - drug effects; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - metabolism; Early HIV; Flow Cytometry; Fluorescent Antibody Technique; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fundamental immunology; General aspects; HIV Infections - drug therapy; HIV Infections - immunology; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Immune reconstitution; Immunophenotyping; Ki-67 Antigen - biosynthesis; Lymphocyte Activation - drug effects; Lymphocyte Activation - immunology; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Pilot Projects; Primary HIV infection; Receptors, CCR5 - biosynthesis; Receptors, CXCR4 - biosynthesis; Sarcoidosis. Granulomatous diseases of unproved etiology. Connective tissue diseases. Elastic tissue diseases. Vasculitis; Viral Load
• ISSN: 1521-6616; 1521-7035
• DOI: 10.1016/j.clim.2007.08.011

Abstract To understand the extent of immune dysregulation in primary HIV infection (PHI) and the impact of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on restoring these abnormalities, we longitudinally evaluated 52 subjects (Acute-Treated (AT); Early-Treated (ET); Early Untreated (EU)) for markers of activation, proliferation, and function on T cells. ET and AT patients differed by 0.54 log viral load (VL) at baseline but did not differ thereafter by more than 0.34 log10 VL. AT subjects had higher CD8+ T cell counts and expression of markers indicative of CD8+ T cell activation (CD38), and proliferation (Ki67), at baseline, than ET subjects but were not different 48 weeks post-ART. Although acute PHI is marked by higher level of immune activation than early PHI, virologic and immunologic responses were similar post-ART, suggesting that the extent of immunologic recovery is not negatively impacted by a delay of treatment beyond the acute stage of disease.