Changes in CD4+ T lymphocyte subset distribution and homeostasis in MSM population with differ-ent stages of HIV infection / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the changes in the percentages of CD4+T lymphocyte subsets and the homeostasis of T lymphocytes among MSM ( men who have sex with men) population with different stages of HIV-1 infection. Methods A total of 166 untreated MSM with HIV infection were enrolled and di-vided into three groups including early HIV infection (EHI, n=38) , HIV (n=94) and AIDS (n=34) groups. Sixty-two MSM negative for anti-HIV antibody were selected as healthy controls. Blood samples were collected into EDTA tubes and detected to analyze the changes in the distribution of CD4+ T cells and CD8+T lymphocyte subsets ( CD4+ CD45RA+, CD8+ CD28+, CD4+ CD25+ CD127-) and the percentages of activated (CD38, HLA-DR) and apoptotic cells (CD95) with disease progression by flow cytometry. Re-sults The expression of CD4+CD45RA+ T lymphocytes gradually decreased with the progression of AIDS. The percentage of CD4+CD45RA+ T lymphocytes in HIV group was lower than that of the control group, but higher than that of the AIDS group (P=0. 015, P=0. 000). No significant difference was found between the EHI and the control groups (P>0. 05). CD8+CD28+T cells were significantly reduced in the EHI group and remained at a low level with disease progression. No significant difference in the proportion of CD4+CD25+CD127- T cells was observed among all groups (P>0. 05). The percentage of CD4+CD38+HLA-DR+T cells increased gradually and the highest level was detected in the AIDS group, followed by those in the HIV, EHI and control groups (P<0. 01). The percentages of CD8+CD38+, CD8+HLA-DR+, CD8+ CD38+HLA-DR+and CD8+CD95+T cells in the EHI, HIV and AIDS groups were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0. 01), but there was no significant difference among the former three groups (P>0. 05). Con-clusion HIV infection caused the changes in the numbers and functions of T lymphocyte subsets and accel-erated the activation and apoptosis of T lymphocytes, which aggravated the T lymphocyte immune dysfunction even further. A comprehensive analysis of the alterations in different T cell subsets would be conducive to re-flect the immune deficiency and the severity of disease. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were activated in the early stage of HIV infection, which indicated that studying the immune response during that stage might help to understand their roles in disease progression.