Changes in Frequency of HIV-1—Specific Cytotoxic T Cell Precursors and Circulating Effectors after Combination Antiretroviral Therapy in Children

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases Vol. 180; no. 2; pp. 359 - 368
• Main Authors: Spiegel, Hans M. L., DeFalcon, Elizabeth, Ogg, Graham S., Larsson, Marie, Beadle, Tom J., Tao, Peter, McMichael, Andrew J., Bhardwaj, Nina, O'Callaghan, Chris, Cox, William I., Krasinski, Keith, Pollack, Henry, Borkowsky, William, Nixon, Douglas F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL The University of Chicago Press 01.08.1999; University of Chicago Press; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Anti-HIV Agents - therapeutic use; Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents; Antiretrovirals; Antiviral agents; Biological and medical sciences; Blood plasma; CD4 antigen; Child; Child, Preschool; Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic; Drug Therapy, Combination; Gene Products, nef - immunology; Highly active antiretroviral therapy; Histocompatibility Antigens Class I - classification; HIV; HIV 1; HIV Infections - drug therapy; HIV Infections - immunology; HIV Infections - virology; HIV-1 - immunology; HIV-1 - physiology; HLA-B8 Antigen - immunology; Human immunodeficiency virus 1; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infant; Infections; Infectious diseases; Leukocytes, Mononuclear - immunology; Leukocytes, Mononuclear - virology; Longitudinal Studies; Major Articles; Medical sciences; nef Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; Peptide Fragments - immunology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; RNA, Viral - blood; T lymphocytes; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic - immunology; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic - physiology; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids; Viral Load; Viremia; Viremia - drug therapy; Viremia - virology; Viruses; Human; Immunopathology; Drug combination; Immune response; HIV-1 virus; Treatment efficiency; Retroviridae; Cytotoxicity; AIDS; Cellular immunity; Immune deficiency; Lentivirus; Infection; Virus; Chemotherapy; Treatment; Follow up study; Viral disease; T-Lymphocyte; Antiviral; Human immunodeficiency virus; Conjugated compound; Child; Quantitative analysis
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1086/314867

Combination antiretroviral therapy has had a major role in reducing human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) plasma viral loads in HIV-1—infected adults but a variable effect in infants, in whom complete viral suppression appears to be less readily achieved. In adults, after the reduction in plasma viremia, there is a decrease in the numbers of circulating cytotoxic T cell (CTL) effectors and precursors in the majority of patients. This longitudinal study assessed the effect of combination drug therapy on the frequency of HIV-1—specific CTL responses in 8 HIV-1-infected children. Following treatment, the frequency of HIV-1—specific CTL responses initially increased, especially in children with incomplete viral suppression but with increasing CD4+ cell counts. In children with complete viral suppression, the frequency of HIV-1—specific CTL responses decreased, suggesting that viral replication is required to maintain CTL responses in the systemic circulation.