Assessment of longitudinal changes in HIV-specific effector activity in subjects undergoing untreated primary HIV infection.

Background: Despite the failure of HIV-specific cell-mediated immune responses to clear the virus, these cells play a critical role in the control of viral replication throughout HIV infection.

Objective: To characterize the natural evolution of the HIV-specific immune response in HIV primary infection (PI).

Methods: Untreated individuals, recruited in HIV PI, were monitored for the evolution of HIV-specific immune responses starting in early HIV disease.

HIV-specific CD8 T-cell activity in uninfected injection drug users is associated with maintenance of seronegativity.

Objectives: To determine whether HIV-exposed, uninfected subjects (EUs) having HIV-specific effector activity are at a reduced risk for seroconverting compared with EUs with no HIV-specific effector responses.

Design: Twenty-eight intravenous drug users (IVDU) with documented risk for HIV infection over a 1-year period were screened for the presence of HIV-specific CD8+ effector cell activity. Group I included 18 IVDUs who remained seronegative despite exposure to HIV through needle sharing with partner(s) known to be HIV infected.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-specific effector CD8 T cell activity in patients with primary HIV infection.

The interferon-gamma ELISPOT assay was used to assess and compare the magnitude and breadth of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-specific CD8 T cell responses in treatment-naive subjects during the first year of HIV primary infection and during the chronic phase of infection. Twenty-five subjects tested within a year of exposure to HIV resulting in seroconversion and 20 subjects with chronic infection were screened for HIV peptide-specific activity by stimulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells with a panel of 5-21 HLA class I-restricted HIV peptides (mean, 11.2 +/- 3.