Abstract
BackgroundInitiation and modification of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected children depend on viral load and CD4+ T-cell count. However, these surrogates have limitations, and complementary immunological markers to assess therapeutic response are needed. Our aim was to evaluate CD8+ T-cell expression of CD127 as a marker of disease status in HIV-infected children, based on adult data suggesting its usefulness. We hypothesized that CD127 expression on CD8+ T-cells is lower in children with more advanced disease.MethodsIn a cross-sectional evaluation, we used flow cytometry to measure CD127+ expression on CD8+ T-cells in whole blood from HIV-infected children with varying disease status. This was compared with expression of CD38 on this subset, currently used in clinical practice as a marker of disease status.Results51 HIV-infected children were enrolled. There was a strong positive correlation between CD127 expression on CD8+ T-cells and CD4+ T-cell count, and height and weight z-scores, and a strong negative correlation between CD127 expression and viral load. In contrast, we found no association between CD38 expression and these disease status markers.ConclusionsCD8+ T-cell CD127 expression is significantly higher in children with better HIV disease control, and may have a role as an immunologic indicator of disease status. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine the utility of this marker as a potential indicator of HIV disease progression.
Highlights
Laboratory assessment of HIV disease status is indispensable for managing antiretroviral therapy in infected children
T-cell expression of HLA-DR, CD38 and CD95 has been correlated with a poor response to therapy [2,3]
A broad spectrum of HIV disease status and of response to therapy was present among patients (Table 1)
Summary
Laboratory assessment of HIV disease status is indispensable for managing antiretroviral therapy in infected children. Initiation and modification of antiretroviral therapy depend, to a large extent, on plasma viral load and peripheral blood CD4+ T lymphocyte count. These surrogates for monitoring disease status are widely used, there are limitations. Initiation and modification of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected children depend on viral load and CD4+ Tcell count. These surrogates have limitations, and complementary immunological markers to assess therapeutic response are needed. Our aim was to evaluate CD8+ T-cell expression of CD127 as a marker of disease status in HIV-infected children, based on adult data suggesting its usefulness. We hypothesized that CD127 expression on CD8+ T-cells is lower in children with more advanced disease
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