Increases in CD3+CD4-CDS- T Lymphocytes in AIDS Patients with Disseminated Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare Complex Infection

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases Vol. 174; no. 5; pp. 969 - 976
• Main Authors: Moreau, Jean-François, Taupln, Jean-Luc, Dupon, Michel, Carron, Jean-Claude, Ragnaud, Jean-Marie, Marimoutou, Catherine, Bernard, Noëlle, Constans, Joël, Texier-Maugein, Jeannette, Barbeau, Pascal, Journot, Valérie, Dabis, François, Bonneville, Marc, Pellegrin, Jean-Luc
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The University of Chicago Press 01.11.1996
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1093/infdis/174.5.969

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected persons frequently have increased numbers of T cells bearing the γδ T cell receptor for antigen (γδ TCR). HIV-1–seropositive patients with < 100 CD4+ cells/rum3 were selected and divided into 9 AIDS-defining illness groups. The percentages of CD4+,CD8+, or double-negative CD4-CDS- (DN) T cells (most of the latter expressing the γδ TCR) for 8 symptomatic groups were compared with those for a reference group of asymptomatic HIV-1–infected patients. DN T cells were increased only in patients with disseminated Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex (MAC) infection, toxoplasmosis, or Kaposi's sarcoma. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the percentage of DN T cells was a better predictor of MAC infection than was the percentage of CD4+ T cells. The increased percentage of DN T cells might have important implications for the understanding of γδ T cell physiology and for the early diagnosis and management of MAC infections in AIDS patients.