The presence of protective cytotoxic T lymphocytes does not correlate with shorter lifespans of productively infected cells in HIV-1 infection.

Objectives And Design: CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) are important in the control of HIV infection. Although CTL are thought to reduce the lifespan of productively infected cells, CD8+ T-cell depletion in simian immunodeficiency virus-infected rhesus-macaques showed no effect on the lifespan of productively infected cells. As CD8+ T-cell responses that successfully delay HIV disease progression occur only in a minority of HIV-infected individuals, we studied the hypothesis that the ability of CTL to reduce the lifespan of productively infected cells is limited to protective CTL responses only.

A lower viral set point but little immunological impact after early treatment during primary HIV infection.

The Primo-SHM trial, a multicenter randomized trial comparing no treatment with 24 or 60 weeks of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) during primary human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (PHI), recently demonstrated that temporary early cART lowered the viral set point and deferred the need for re-initiation of cART during chronic HIV infection. This study examined whether the beneficial effect of early treatment was caused by preservation of immunological responses. Twenty-seven treated and 20 untreated PHI individuals participating in the Primo-SHM trial were compared at viral set point, that is, 36 weeks after baseline or after treatment interruption, respectively, for a diverse set of immunological parameters.

Differential characteristics of cytotoxic T lymphocytes restricted by the protective HLA alleles B*27 and B*57 in HIV-1 infection.

Objective: HLA-B*27 and B*57 are associated with relatively slow progression to AIDS. Mechanisms held responsible for this protective effect include the immunodominance and high magnitude, breadth, and affinity of the cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) response restricted by these HLA molecules, as well as superior maintenance of CTL responses during HIV-1 disease progression.

Design: We examined CTL responses from HIV-1-infected individuals restricted through protective and nonprotective HLA alleles within the same host, thereby excluding any effects of slow or rapid progression on the CTL response.