ABSTRACT
Objective:To detect the expression of BTLA on Treg cells of HIV-infected patients and investigate the role of BTLA in HIV infection.Methods: Forty-four HIV-1-infected patients (twenty-four early HIV infection,fourteen chronic HIV-infected patients with CD4+ T counts> 200 cells/μl,AIDS patients with CD4+T counts<200 cells/μl) and nine healthy people served as normal controls were selected to detect the expression of BTLA on Treg cells by flow cytometry.The correlations between BTLA expression on Treg cells and disease progression or immune activation were studied.Results: There was a higher percentage of BTLA on Treg cells in chronic HIV patients and AIDS patients than that in early HIV infected patients(P<0.05,P<0.01),and the expression of BTLA on Treg cells in AIDS patients was higher than that in normal controls(P<0.05).The expression of BTLA on Treg cells was negatively correlated with CD4+T lymphocyte counts and positively correlated with viral load (P<0.001,P<0.01).The percentage of BTLA on Treg cells was positively correlated with CD4+CD38+T lymphocytes and CD4+HLA-DR+T lymphocytes(P<0.001,P<0.001).Conclusion: Increased BTLA expression on HIV-infected Treg cells is associated with disease progression,suggesting that it may accelerate disease progression by enhancing Treg cells inhibitory function and may provide intervention information for HIV infection in the future.