Bulk Culture Levels of Specific Cytotoxic T‐Cell Activity Against HIV‐1 Proteins are not Associated with Risk of Death

• Published in: Scandinavian journal of immunology Vol. 50; no. 2; pp. 223 - 227
• Main Authors: Aladdin, H, Ullum, H, Lepri, A C, Leffers, H, Katzenstein, T, Gerstoft, J, Gjedde, S B, Phillips, A N, Skinhøj, P, Pedersen, B K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, U.K. and Cambridge, USA Blackwell Science Ltd 01.08.1999; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adult; AIDS/HIV; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; Cells, Cultured; Disease Progression; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Gene Products, gag - immunology; Gene Products, nef - immunology; Gene Products, pol - immunology; HIV Antigens - immunology; HIV Envelope Protein gp120 - immunology; HIV Infections - immunology; HIV Infections - mortality; HIV Infections - physiopathology; HIV Infections - virology; HIV-1 - genetics; HIV-1 - immunology; Human immunodeficiency virus 1; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; nef Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; RNA, Viral - blood; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic - immunology
• ISSN: 0300-9475; 1365-3083
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-3083.1999.00585.x

The ability of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) to control and influence the outcome of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is not fully understood. The association between HIV‐CTL activity and disease progression was evaluated prospectively in 36 HIV‐1‐infected individuals with a median follow‐up of 3.0 years. HIV‐CTL activity was measured in a 4 h Cr* release assay using autologous target cells expressing HIV‐1 BRU isolate gene products (gp‐120, gag, pol, nef) and a bulk culture of autologous effector cells. The CD4 count was measured at enrolment and plasma HIV RNA was measured retrospectively. The present study failed to support the hypothesis that HIV‐CTL activity, as measured using the present method, is important in reducing the risk of death in HIV‐infected individuals. However, using other approaches and methods could possibly yield other conclusions, and further prospective studies are needed to examine the relationship between CTL and disease progression.