AIDSWEEKLY Plus; Monday, November 7, 2005
Staff Medical Writers

According to a study from Australia, "We investigated whether HIV-1 antigen-specific CD4+ T cells expressed the viral coreceptor CCR5 during primary HIV-1 infection (PHI)."

"In the peripheral blood of subjects with very early PHI (<22 days after onset of symptoms), there was a 10- to 20-fold increase in the proportion of highly activated (CD38+++) and proliferating (Ki67+) CD4+ T cells that expressed CCR5+, and were mostly T-cell intracellular antigen-1 (TIA-1)+perforin+granzyme B+.

"In the same patient samples," reported J.J. Zaunders and colleagues at St. Vincent's Hospital in Darlinghurst, "CD4+ T cells producing interferon (IFN)-gamma in response to HIV group-specific antigen (Gag) peptides were readily detected (median, 0.58%) by intracellular cytokine assay-these cells were again predominantly CD38+++, Ki-67+, and TIA-1+, as well as Bcl-2(low)."

"On average," the authors continued, "20% of the Gag-specific CD4+ T cells also expressed interleukin-2 (IL-2) and were CD127 (IL-7R)+."

"Taken together, these results suggest that Gag-specific T-helper 1 (Thl) effector cells express CCR5 during the primary response and may include precursors of long-term self-renewing memory cells.

"However, in PHI subjects with later presentation," said Zaunders, "antigen-specific CD4+ T cells could not be readily detected (median, 0.08%), coinciding with a 5-fold lower level of the CCR5+ CD38+++ CD4+ T cells."

Scientists concluded, "These results suggest that the antiviral response to HIV-1 infection includes highly activated CCR5+CD4+ cytotoxic effector cells, which are susceptible to both apoptosis and cytopathic infection with HIV-1, and rapidly decline."

Zaunders and colleagues published their study in Blood (Early proliferation of CCR5+ CD38+++ antigen-specific CD4+ Th1 effector cells during primary HIV-1 infection. Blood. 2005 Sep 1;106(5):1660-7.

For more information, contact J.J. Zaunders, St. Vincen's Hospital, Center Immunology, Victoria St., Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia.

Publisher contact information for the journal Blood is: American Society Hematology, 1900 M Street. NW Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036, USA.

Keywords: Darlinghurst, Australia, Primary HIV Infection, Antiviral Activity, CCR5+CD4+ Cells, Apoptosis, Cytopathic Infection.

This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports.

Reference

Zaunders JJ, Munier ML, Kaufmann DE, et al., "Early proliferation of CCR5(+) CD38(+++) antigen-specific CD4(+) Th1 effector cells during primary HIV-1 infection", Blood. 2005 Sep 1;106(5):1660-7.

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