RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: HIV rapid progressors (RPs) present with a rapid decline of CD4+ T cells within a few years of infection. Determining the underlying mechanisms throughout this decline is important to identify prognostic biomarkers and intervention strategies. Determining the numbers of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells is essential for monitoring the immune status of HIV infected patients. There are additional kinds of cell subtypes in T cells, but their relationship to the rapid progression of HIV disease is not well defined. METHODS: Nineteen RPs and twenty-one chronic progressors (CPs) were enrolled in this study. Based on the intensity of CD4 and CD8 expression, different T cell subtypes were identified, including CD4+CD8+T cells, CD4-CD8- T cells, CD4+CD8low T cells and CD4-CD8low T cells. Alterations in these T cell subtypes in early HIV infection (within 120â¯days of infection) between RPs and CPs were measured, and the relationships between these subtypes and HIV disease progression were investigated. In addition, expression of IFN-γ in T cell subtypes after PMA stimulation was analyzed by flow cytometry. RESULTS: We found that during early HIV infection, CD4+CD8low T cells both significantly decreased in numbers and percentages in RPs compared to CPs. Furthermore, baseline CD4+CD8low T cells positively correlated not only with baseline CD4+T cells but also with CD4+T cells 12â¯months after infection. Moreover, survival analysis indicated that low levels of baseline CD4+CD8low T cells significantly accelerated the decline in CD4+ T cells as well as increased viral loads. CD4+CD8low T cells secreted significantly more IFN-γ after PMA stimulation compared to CD4+CD8-T cells and CD4-CD8+T cells, which may be beneficial for the prevention of disease progression. CONCLUSIONS: Our results identified that in early stage HIV-1 infection, a subtype of T cells, CD4+CD8low, are associated with subsequent disease progression.