학술논문
HIV-specific CD8+ T cell proliferation is coupled to perforin expression and is maintained in nonprogressors.
Document Type
Article
Author
Source
Subject
*HIV infections
*CD antigens
*T cells
*
*
Language
ISSN
1529-2908
Abstract
It is unclear why immunological control of HIV replication is incomplete in most infected individuals. We examined here the CD8[sup +]T cell response to HIV-infected CD4[sup +]T cells in rare patients with immunological control of HIV. Although high frequencies of HIV-specific CD8[sup +]T cells were present in nonprogressors and progressors, only those of nonprogressors maintained a high proliferative capacity. This proliferation was coupled to increases in perforin expression. These results indicated that nonprogressors were differentiated by increased proliferative capacity of HIV-specific CD8[sup +]T cells linked to enhanced effector function. In addition, the relative absence of these functions in progressors may represent a mechanism by which HIV avoids immunological control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]